If shipping was a country, it would be the sixth-largest global air polluter. Bunker fuel used in shipping emits sulphur and particulates that can cause respiratory illness, as well as greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide and methane. At present, about 3% of global emissions are released by ocean freight shipping and with current fuel, the industry is projected to produce more than 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions by midcentury.
In response, the international body responsible for shipping regulations set new emission limits starting in 2012, and by this January 2020 requires ships to significantly cut the amount of sulphur pollution they emit near land. For the U.S., the regulations apply anywhere within 200 miles of its coastline.
Proving again that regulation helps drive technological evolution, hydrogen fuel cells are now being implemented as a clean fuel for shipping. It takes three to five years to build a new ship, but existing vessels can also be retrofit with hydrogen power systems. See The Dawn of Low Carbon Shipping:
Using hydrogen to generate electricity is very clean. Hydrogen fuel cells combine hydrogen with oxygen and create electricity and water. The electricity can be used to turn a propeller, for example. The exhaust from fuel cells is moist air — with no greenhouse gases…”The technology is all here,” Pratt says. “There’s no reason why we couldn’t make all these vessels zero-emission today.”
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