It was a pleasure to attend the Alternative Fuels and Advanced Yachting Technology Conference organised by the Yacht Club de Monaco on 4th & 5th July 2024 as part of the 11th Monaco Energy Boat Challenge. Apart from the wonderful location & hospitality of the YCM, and the added excitement brought by the university boat challenge teams, the conference was packed with insightful content. The conversation covered a wide scope of alternative fuels that could potentially be embraced by the superyacht sector in the not-so-distant future. Add on to this, sessions on sustainability measurement and the use of artificial intelligence and you have the ingredients for a perfect conference – which, in our opinion, it was!
You can watch the proceedings of both days of the conference here:
- 04 July 2024: Monaco Energy Boat Challenge | Conference 8h00-13h00 // 4 July (youtube.com)
- 05 July 2024: Monaco Energy Boat Challenge | Hydrogen round table | 8h30-13h00 // 5 July (youtube.com)
However, for those of you who do not have 9-hours to spare, we have summarised our key takeaways. Let’s start with a reminder as to why the superyacht sector is discussing the need to invest in alternative fuels.
Why does the Superyacht Sector need Alternative Fuels?
Fundamentally, the superyacht sector needs to ‘clean up its act’. According to the latest IMO GHG Study, the wider maritime sector is responsible for 3% of the Global Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions. The majority of these emissions, of course, come from commercial shipping, but the superyacht sector certainly contributes a meaningful quantity. Today over 99% of superyachts are powered by fossil fuel. Even sailing yachts spend significant periods of time under engine and consume significant amounts of fuel.
If the superyacht community is going to meet IMO’s ambitious target of ‘Fuel decarbonisation of shipping by 2050’ then swift, collective action needs to be taken to make a swift switch to low or zero carbon fuels. Many of us can easily remember what we were doing 25-year ago. Put it in that context and the year 2050 is just around the corner!
What are our Alternative Fuel Options?
The YCM conference presented a balanced view of various alternative fuels that are already under development, all with varying degrees of advantages and disadvantages: Methanol; Ammonia; Nuclear; Wind (revolutionary!) and, of course, Hydrogen.
Ammonia: a non-starter for superyachts?
At the outset the case for promoting Ammonia fuel may seem attractive. For example, it is readily available, with around 200 million tonnes produced around the world each year. Its chemical composition is nitrogen & hydrogen (NH3), so it certainly ticks the box as a decarbonised fuel. Furthermore, ammonia-fuelled engines are in the late stages of development with pilot projects on commercial ships anticipated for 2026/2027 ( Source: The case for two-stroke ammonia engines). So why not adopt this fuel across the superyacht sector?
It is the handling properties of ammonia that will probably prevent ammonia from being adopted widely by the yachting industry. At room temperature, ammonia is a colourless, highly irritating gas with a foul, suffocating odour. In solution, ammonia has alkaline properties and is corrosive. The hazardous nature of this fuel means that, in all likelihood, it is unlikely to be the sustainable solution the superyacht sector is looking for.
Nuclear: an unlikely alternative fuel for superyachts.
At first glance, nuclear is another fuel that could help us meet the carbon reduction objective. Firstly, nuclear power is an inherently safe technology that has been on board military ships for 70+ years. But can it be scaled down for smaller, private vessels?
The conference’s conversation around nuclear power did not lead us to believe that this is a technology that will be adopted by the superyacht industry anytime soon, if indeed at all. There are too many headwinds: cost; availability; scale and regulation, to name but a few. Public perception is also a huge hurdle. Will yacht owners, guests & crew feel comfortable to live and sleep in the vicinity of a small-scale nuclear reactor? In our view, we think this solution will meet with much resistance.
Green Methanol: a promising solution?
The adoption of methanol as an alternative fuel for superyachts is a promising, but not perfect, option for the superyacht sector. A significant advantage is the ease of transport of methanol, an energy-dense yet reasonably stable liquid at all environmental conditions. Methanol is an organic chemical used widely across industries (paints, plastics, construction materials etc.), so, in theory, it is readily available.
Several methanol powered commercial ships have recently come into operation, with a clear greenhouse gas saving. M.V Stena Prosperous, for example, was christened in Singapore in May 2024. The converted cargo vessel delivers CO2e savings of 31% compared to the same voyage operated on Very Low Sulphur Fuel Oil (VLSFO). (Source: Proman Stena Bulk formally names methanol tanker Stena Prosperous in Singapore | Stena Bulk).
We must remember, however, that methanol is NOT a carbon free option, and, like fossil fuels, CO2 emissions are a bi-product. Most methanol is currently produced from natural gas, bringing limited emission savings compared to fossil fuels. To be environmentally advantageous, the focus would have to be on Green Methanol.
Green methanol is produced from readily available sources (such as from biomethane, solid biomass, cow manure, municipal solid waste) using renewable energy, resulting in a methanol with a significantly lower carbon footprint. MAN Energy Solutions predicts that 8.4 million tonnes of CO2 emissions could be saved if just 1% of marine fuel was replaced with green methanol worldwide. Green methanol produced from biogas can reportedly bring more than 90% GHG emissions savings. So, what is stopping the superyacht sector from adopting this route?
Regulation is the first hurdle, but this will be put in place once the demand for green methanol is sufficiently high. The same could be said for a good supply network and infrastructure at marinas. Methanol requires more than double the storage space than fossil fuels to produce the same amount of energy. This raises another challenge in storage capacity both on land and on the vessel.
Additionally, unlike many biofuels, green methanol has different properties to Marine and Automotive Gasoil (MGO & AGO respectively) and therefore needs different engine injection systems. Hence, green methanol cannot be adopted interchangeably with traditional fossil fuels. New engines will need to be designed and retrofitted into the existing fleet or commissioned for new yachts.
Overall, we would say that the adoption of green methanol as an alternative fuel is a possibility, providing the hurdles of supply, infrastructure, storage space and engine technology can be overcome. One key takeaway from the presentation was that the industry needs to come together to find a standardised engine solution that can be employed by all shipyards, for new build & retrofitting.
Sails: Ancient history or the technology of the future?
The employment of sails in shipping is by no means revolutionary. The earliest record of a ship under sail appears on an Egyptian vase from about 3,500 BC! With this in mind, one could argue that the evolution of sailing yachts has been modest, given that we have been using them for over 5,500 years. So why are we talking about sails as solution for the future?
The America’s Cup, a sailing competition that has been contested for over 160-years, has led to significant advances in sailing technology over the past decade. The sailing world is now talking about such things as Rotor Sails, Rigid Wing Sails, Soft Wing Sails and Ventilated Foil System, in addition to the traditional Soft Sail System. Superyachts such as the 88-meter Maltese Falcon (built 2006) and the 107 metre Black Pearl (2016) have re-energised the superyacht community’s enthusiasm for sailing yachts.
Thanks to advances in fully-automated technology, sails are being retrofitted onto commercial cargo ships, leading to additional power and significant fuel savings. So, what is preventing us from retrofitting sails onto superyachts as a means of cleaning up its image? Aesthetic and logistical concerns seem to be the main issues with this solution. However, the reduction in fuel costs must be seen as an advantage. The installation of automated sails will certainly take up space on deck and will probably change the look and the weight of a vessel. Is it possible? Probably, in many cases, but we will need to ask a Yacht Designer/Marine Architect for an informed response! Clearly, sails could form part of the design of new superyachts coming out of the shipyards in the years to come. In our opinion, the superyacht industry should seriously consider the option of harnessing wind to sail into a cleaner future. The yacht designer, Sunreef Yachts, is already leading the way.
Hydrogen Fuel Cells: A serious contender.
Hydrogen fuel cells are a serious contender as an alternative fuel, not only for the superyacht sector but also for application worldwide. Hydrogen is a clean fuel that, when consumed in a fuel cell, produces only water, addressing critical climate challenges as there are no carbon dioxide emissions. The fuel cell is highly efficient and converts the chemical energy in the hydrogen directly into electrical energy.
There are already around 17,000 hydrogen-powered vehicles on the roads in the U.S., all of them in California, the sole state with a network of retail hydrogen fuelling stations to make the cars usable. A hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle uses the same kind of electric motor as a battery-electric car. However, it is not powered by a large, heavy battery but by a fuel-cell stack in which pure hydrogen (H2) passes through a membrane to combine with oxygen (O2) from the air, producing the electricity that drives the engine. The only biproduct of this process is water vapour.
Given that the hydrogen fuel cell technology is already being employed in land-based vehicles, why not use it in superyachts? The same challenges arise with hydrogen fuel cell technology as for methanol technology: regulation pertaining to handling & usage; supply (availability & supply infrastructure); and the space required for storage onboard.
Similar to green methanol, green hydrogen will be the best option for significantly reducing carbon emissions. Today, about 95% of all hydrogen is produced from natural gas resulting in CO2 emissions. By contrast, green hydrogen is produced through a process of electrolysis powered by renewable energies, such as wind or solar. The electrolysis process uses an electrical current and electrodes to break down water into oxygen and hydrogen.
None of these hurdles are insurmountable. If the superyacht sector chooses to back Hydrogen as its preferred alternative fuel, solutions will be found to overcome the challenges. In fact, Hydrogen fuelling is already a reality in the harbour of the YCM. Along with the hydrogen-fuelled competition boats at this year’s Monaco Energy Boat Challenge, there were two sizeable hydrogen-fuelled tenders in operation, reportedly the first of their kind globally. It was great to see that the Yacht Club of Monaco is already leading the way in promoting alternative fuels.
What Alternative Fuel Options Does Yacht Carbon Offset Support?
The YCM conference brought the spotlight on various alternative fuels that could potentially be the fuels of the (not-so-distant!) future in the superyacht industry. In our opinion, ammonia and nuclear technologies are unlikely to take centre stage. Methanol and Hydrogen fuel technologies are ones to look out for, with hydrogen edging ahead in terms of scalability and current application. Automated sail technology is certainly a real, immediate solution, if we can accept the cost and the aesthetic design elements. Equally, we mustn’t forget biofuels or onboard solar panels that are being increasingly employed across the industry.
In the meantime, we suggest reducing your carbon footprint to a minimum by cruising efficiently and using biofuel whenever possible. Thereafter, carbon offset the unavoidable greenhouse gas emissions using Yacht Carbon Offset’s immediate and transparent carbon offset service. Act now to make a difference!