Methanol - Issue #1

A word from the editor…

In the second of a series of special reports into future fuels The Motorship shifts its focus to methanol. Unlike the subject of the first report ammonia, there are methanol engines already commercially released and running so what could possibly be an issue with the fuel becoming the dominant fuel when various maritime regulations really start to bare their teeth? Well, myriad in fact.

Methanol as a substance is fairly abundant, although that’s true for grey methanol, or in other words, not particularly environmentally sourced methanol. Green methanol is another matter and one which organisations such as The Methanol Institute are looking into. Hard. There is optimism though as green corridors around the world are boosting production of renewably sourced methanol fast so engine makers may well be following these developments with interest regarding possible orders.

In this report, we speak to the engineers who are not just building the engines that can run on methanol such as Everllence and WinGD but also those OEMs making turbochargers, fuel injection systems and fuel supply systems that can function on methanol. Last year, TUI Cruises launched the Mein Schiff 7, the first cruise ship of its kind that can run on methanol, we spoke to John Bergman, CEO of Auramarine that supplied the methanol fuel supply system to that groundbreaking vessel.

Methanol has one big advantage over what some might see as its main rival ammonia: a relative lack of toxicity. This makes it suited for passenger vessels such as the aforementioned cruise ship although this is not to suggest the fuel is only for four-stroke engines, it has applications in two-stroke and gensets as well.

Join us as we navigate through the world of future fuels in these reports, talking to a range of companies many of which give a critical, therefore balanced, view of each fuel in question. This is especially true of methanol, with its price/availability issues being among the most contentious over its use.

- David Stevenson, Editor, The Motorship
dstevenson@mercatormedia.com