MariNH3 aims for decarbonised marine sector

The MariNH3 team hopes that through developing disruptive engine technology solutions with minimised end energy use and reduced pollutants, the EPSRC-funded project will help to push the marine sector toward Net Zero as well as boosting the UK’s strong powertrain sector.

Professor Alasdair Cairns, principal investigator on the project and director of Nottingham University’s Powertrain Research Centre, explained that he believes the 'real challenge' for marine is retrofitting. 

Speaking to The Engineer, Cairns said that around 80 per cent of the sector’s greenhouse gases come from the large commercial ships used to move materials around the world, something that has historically been cheap and made sense from an economic stance — but presents a massive environmental problem, he stressed.

“These big ships have got engines that stay in service for up to 30 years. If you look at the timing of Net Zero … it’s still going to be these large engines that are in service,” he said. “And the problem is, when you look at competing energy vectors like batteries or fuel cells, they just don’t have the energy density.”