2025/07/08 by Diego Díaz-Cuenca, Antonio Villalba-Herreros, Teresa J. Leo +1 · 1 voice
Energy · Engineering · Environmental Science · #Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems #Maritime Transport Emissions and Efficiency #Spacecraft and Cryogenic Technologies
paper · pdf · doi:10.3390/jmse13071313
openalex publication_date 2025/07/08 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
The maritime industry remains a significant contributor to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In this article, a systematic study has been performed on the alternative fuel emissions of large cargo ships under different route scenarios and propulsion systems. For this purpose, a set of key performance indicators (KPIs) are evaluated, including total equivalent CO2 emissions (CO2eq), CO2eq emissions per unit of transport mass and CO2eq emissions per unit of transport mass per distance. The emissions analysis demonstrates that Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) paired with Marine Gas Oil (MGO) emerges as the most viable short-term solution in comparison with the conventional fuel oil propulsion. Synthetic methanol (eMeOH) paired with synthetic diesel (eDiesel) is identified as the most promising long-term fuel combination. When comparing the European Union (EU) emission calculation system (FuelEU) with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) emission metrics, a discrepancy in emissions reduction outcomes has been observed. The IMO approach appears to favor methanol (MeOH) and liquefied natural gas (LNG) over conventional fuel oil. This is attributed to the fact that the IMO metrics do not consider unburned methane emissions (methane slip) and emissions in the production of fuels (Well-to-Tank).