Energy Revolution News

Carbon capture, energy efficiency and green fuels are the roadmap to net zero by 2050. That’s the pathway outlined by the 2023 Outlook, Beyond the Horizon: View of the Emerging Value Chains, the latest industry-leading research from ABS into shipping’s progress on the green energy transition.Released at the ABS Sustainability Summit during London International Shipping Week, the report examines in depth the carbon, ammonia and hydrogen value chains. It concludes that the industry will need to accelerate investment in carbon capture technology…

HGK Shipping and the Port of Rotterdam signed a long-term cooperation agreement to promote sustainable concepts for inland waterway services leading to and from seaports. The document primarily focuses on the energy revolution and logistics for hydrogen as well as reducing CO2 emissions by using innovative drive concepts and digitalization. These topics are crucially important to ensure reliable and sustainable supplies for industry. The agreement therefore ensures that stable…

MSC Group's cruise division, shipbuilder Fincantieri, and Italian energy infrastructure company Snam have signed a memorandum of understanding to determine the conditions for the design and construction of what would become the world’s first oceangoing hydrogen-powered cruise ship.The owner of the world’s third largest cruise brand and part of the leading global shipping and logistics conglomerate MSC Group, giant shipbuilding group Fincantieri, and Snam have joined forces to…

As the maritime industry embarks on 'the path to zero', it is widely acknowledged that there is currently not a 'silver bullet' solution, nor is it likely that a solution will emerge from a vaccum. Collaboration is the path forward, and efforts such as MethanQuest offer promise.The project MethanQuest was launched in September 2018 with 29 partners from research, industry and the energy sector to work on processes for producing hydrogen and methane from renewables and for using them to achieve climate-neutral mobility and power generation.

Rolls-Royce's Power Systems division has ended the 2020 financial year with an underlying operating profit of $247.3 million despite suffering a 17% drop in underlying revenue to $3.8 billion. This corresponds to an underlying operating margin of 6.5% (2019: 11.5%). As a result, Power Systems, with its product and solutions brand mtu, remained in the black during the 2020 pandemic year.Power Systems is taking advantage of the crisis to prepare for a shift in its business model…

Crane specialist Liebherr has informed that important components for a giant crane to be installed aboard OHT's Alfa Lift offshore wind foundation installation vessel, have departed from Germany and are now en route to China where the vessel is being built.The Alfa Lift, being built for Offshore Heavy Transports (OHT) at China Merchants Heavy Industry (CMHI) shipyard in Jiangsu, China, was on February 28, floated-out from its drydock. Once delivered, the semisubmersible heavy installation vessel…

The global manufacturer of equipment Chart Industries has joined SEA\LNG, the multi-sector industry coalition accelerating the widespread adoption of liquefied natural gas (LNG).Peter Keller, SEA\LNG chairman, commented: “We are thrilled to welcome another member from North America. Chart is a highly respected equipment and solution provider working across the LNG value chain and we look forward to working together with a company that is at the heart of the energy revolution.”Chart is a key equipment and systems provider to applications that utilize clean burning, economical natural gas.The liquefaction technology that is used includes specialized heat exchangers…

The shipping industry is set on a serious decarbonization course and the search is on for credible, viable and cost-effective solutions to meet the IMO’s initial strategy challenge to peak GHG emissions from international shipping as soon as possible and to reduce the total annual GHG emissions by at least 50 percent by 2050 compared to 2008.Wind propulsion technologies can help cut fuel costs significantly, make vessels compliant with existing and impending emission regulations…

While orders for new vessels have continued to decline worldwide in 2017, the situation in the German and European shipbuilding market is different, with an increase of incoming orders. As shipping experts state: “…this is not a trend but a snapshot, but it indicates a high competitiveness of the German shipbuilding industry, particularly on technologically advanced projects.”The global mood barometer of the maritime industry had reached its lowest point in 2016. From the abyss confidence and order have carefully increased…

As the luxury yacht/adventure sector of the global cruise market continues to gain strength, Maritime Reporter & Engineering News recently received insights from Hurtigruten, a clear leader in the sector. William Harber, President of the Americas Region, Hurtigruten, explains the path forward. Please discuss Hurtigruten’s plans to ramp up its North American presence. We are indeed ramping up our presence in the Americas. From a distribution perspective, Hurtigruten is developing stronger, deeper and more strategic partnerships to drive our expedition cruise products.

The Switch received an order from WE Tech to deliver its permanent magnet (PM) shaft generators to two 18,600 dwt chemical tankers currently under construction for Sweden’s Ektank AB. Sweden's Ektank AB is family-owned with a modern fleet of five chemical tankers in size ranging from 13,700 DWT to 17,000 DWT. The PM-based shaft generator is a powerful proposition for today’s cost and environmentally conscious shipowners. This deal is an example of how PM technology is set to revolutionize the maritime industry.

Rising exports have thrown a lifeline to U.S. shale producers and refiners, giving them an additional outlet at a time when the domestic market has been at risk of becoming saturated. The United States exported record quantities of natural gas, propane, gasoline, distillate fuel oil and light crude last year while continuing to import the heavy oils needed by its refineries. Gas exports increased by almost 30 percent in 2016 and have more than tripled in the last decade, limiting the build up of unused gas and supporting prices in recent months despite the warmest winter on record.

The U.S. Senate Energy Committee on Thursday passed a bill that would lift a decades-old ban on the export of crude oil. The 22-member panel passed the bill to allow the United States to export oil and boost state revenue-sharing for offshore oil and gas drilling by a vote of 12-10. Senate Energy Committee chair Lisa Murkowski, a Republican senator from Alaska, has been a long-time advocate for lifting the ban, which she said was outdated due to the rise of the United States as an energy power. In addition to unlocking crude oil exports, the bill would also speed up exports of liquefied natural gas and ensure that states that have offshore oil and gas development get their share of federal revenues. The bill will move to the Senate floor for wider debate later this summer.

After the collapse of the global financial system in 2008, crude oil forward curves moved into steep contango. Fortunes were made in storage asset plays in 2009-2010, which is likely the reason that so much attention is being devoted to the topic today; however, the contango is inherently different today than it was after The Great Recession. As the U.S. energy revolution continues to develop, global crude oil supply and demand dynamics have begun to evolve. Improvements to hydraulic fracturing processes have helped the U.S. become the world’s largest crude oil producer.

Chile's state oil company ENAP has signed long-term deal with British Gas to import shale gas from the United States at the end of next year, local media reported. Shipments will leave from a U.S. port, Chilean Energy Minister Maximo Pacheco was quoted as saying on Monday in newspaper La Tercera's Tuesday edition. "Among the first gas shipments to leave from that port will be gas destined for Chile," Pacheco said. The deal's volumes and prices were not revealed. A press officer at the Energy Minister confirmed the information but did not give further details.

The United States has replaced OPEC as the marginal petroleum supplier to the world thanks to the shale revolution and improvements in automotive fuel efficiency. Net U.S. imports of crude and products have halved over the last five years, or by an amount equivalent to the entire daily crude exports of Saudi Arabia. Net imports totalled 5.2 million barrels per day at the start of 2014, down from 11.2 million at the beginning of 2009, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Not one barrel of U.S.

The business of ship service has changed mightily in recent years, with many new regulations and technical mandates on modern ships, the continued and rapid consolidation of major players and a historic shift in vessel trading patterns driven by the shale energy revolution in the U.S. To help put it all in perspective, MR reached out to Simon Hutt, the new VP of the Americas for Wilhelmsen Ships Service. Please encapsulate your maritime experience to date. My career has always been in maritime. I was in the Royal Navy as an officer for 17 years, specializing in diving and navigation.

Marine Current Turbines, the UK tidal energy technology company, has won EnergyOcean International’s 2011 Technology Pioneer Award for successfully demonstrating and running their commercial-scale SeaGen tidal technology. The award will be received by Martin Wright, Chief Executive of Marine Current Turbines (MCT), at the EnergyOcean International 2011 Conference in Portland, Maine, USA next month (June 15th). The 1.2MW SeaGen, located in Northern Ireland’s Strangford Lough, is the only tidal current turbine anywhere in the world to feed power regularly into a local electricity grid on a commercial basis. It has been operating since 2008 and has the capacity to generate electricity for the equivalent of 1500 homes.