Shipping is tough on the climate and hard to clean up – these innovations can help cut emissions
In The Conversation, NAME Chair Jing Sun explains some of the fuels and technology that could improve shipping sustainability in the future.
Written by Jing Sun
Ships carry more than 80% of world trade, and they rely heavily on some of the least environmentally friendly transportation fuels available.
There are no cheap, widely available solutions that can lower the shipping industry’s planet-warming carbon emissions – in fact, shipping is considered one of the hardest industries on the planet to decarbonize – but some exciting innovations are being tested right now.
As a professor of naval architecture and marine engineering, I work on ship propulsion and control systems, including electrification, batteries and fuel cells. With attention focused on climate change this week as world leaders meet at the G-7 summit and negotiators discuss shipping emissions at a meeting of the U.N.‘s International Maritime Organization, let’s take a look at what’s possible and some of the fuels and technologies that are likely to define the industry’s future.
This article was originally published in The Conversation. Read the full article.