OAK RIDGE, Tenn. — Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Caterpillar announced a partnership on Wednesday to develop engines using methanol to power large container ships. ORNL researchers said they're trying to help de-carbonize the maritime industry.
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development said more than 80% of the world's merchandise is transported by sea and ships account for around 2.8% of the world's greenhouse emissions.
Scientists at ORNL said they're trying to minimize the amount of diesel used by large container ships and replace it with methanol. The Department of Energy said methanol is cheaper, safer and more efficient to produce than diesel.
"It's a low-carbon fuel that potentially comes readily made from more renewable-type feedstocks," said Robert Wagner, the division director for buildings and transportation science at ORNL.
Wagner said methanol doesn't burn as easily as diesel.
"Methanol is not a very good fuel for diesel engines," Wagner said. "The outcome of this isn't, 'Here's a ship running this technology,' but this is the knowledge discovery and the know-how to get to that point."
Wagner said that because of the size and weight of batteries, electrifying large ships isn't feasible. Will Watson from Caterpillar said the company is trying to minimize the changes to large container ships while replacing diesel engines with methanol-fueled engines.
"The engine in itself is very similar to a diesel engine that you have in operation today," Watson said.
ORNL said it's researching methanol fuel in a six-cylinder marine engine at its National Transportation Research Center. Scientists are studying other engine designs and fuel options at that facility, Watson said.