Pushboat design considerations facing climate change

摘要

In recent years low water levels along the Rhine have hindered navigation significantly. In parallel, operators need to switch to greener fuels. However, this means extra volume and/or weight is added for the energy storage and conversion. This is a major challenge given the dimensional constraints of these vessels. MARIN investigated this subject studying two existing pushboats (40 m and 22.5 m), their operational profile and the minimum autonomy reguired (range without bunkering). By applying the Ship Power and Concept design tool a shortlist of possible energy carriers was deducted. Applying biodiesel and bioLNG reduces Green House Gas (GHG) emissions with available technologies, but less than required in 2030. Additionally, there are designs available for these fuels, which is why methanol was selected as the energy carrier in order to reduce GHG by more than 55%.