Techno-economic Feasibility Study of ClimaHtech innovative clean maritime solutions

This techno-economic feasibility study explores the potential to bring a breakthrough clean fuel production technology to market which has the potential to deliver significant decarbonisation to the UK's maritime activities.

The study will focus initially on Orkney and Belfast as test locations for installing the clean fuel production and distribution systems. Both areas have access to significant renewable sources, but also cover a diverse range of vessel related activities, which will ensure that the outcomes are replicable across the UK.

The main aims of this project are to complete a techno-economic feasibility study to determine the commercial viability of:

* Production of e-diesel and bio-diesel for the maritime sector
* Use of e-diesel on marine vessels to displace fossil fuel use
* Use of bio-diesel to supply port-side equipment

This study will determine the benefits and challenges to producing e-diesel using CATAGEN's E-FUEL GEN technology and direct air capture (DAC) technologies to decarbonise typical marine vessel fuel demand while enabling continued use of bunkering and fuel infrastructure.

This work will be supported by Belfast Harbour, EMEC, Orkney Islands Council, Highlands Fuels to provide specialist knowledge and information to support development of a robust and holistic decarbonisation solution that is applicable across the UK and can be exported globally.

Successful completion of the study will demonstrate how e-diesel and bio-diesel can be used to decarbonise the maritime sector and supporting infrastructure whilst enabling continued use of existing propulsion systems, fuel storage and handling equipment, and health and safety regulations. The study will show how this removes several of the barriers to adoption of decarbonisation technologies such as retrofitting/upgrading of existing assets, unproven or lacking infrastructure capability and undefined or absent regulation and subsidy frameworks.

The project will use data including, local renewable energy generation potential, fuel demand profiles, and fuel infrastructure information provided by project partners to determine how CATAGEN technology can accelerate decarbonisation of maritime activities at partner ports, and show how this can be replicated across the UK maritime sector. Additionally, the study will provide a set of recommendations for how the knowledge and understanding gained can be used to develop a demonstration project and how it can be replicated across other UK ports.