Future ships need to operate with low or possibly zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while ensuring low influence on other environmental impacts and that the operation is economically feasible. This study conducts a life-cycle evaluation of potential decarbonization solutions involving selected energy carriers (electrolytic hydrogen, electro-ammonia, electro-methanol, and electricity) in different propulsion system setups (engines, fuel cells, and carbon capture technologies) in terms of environmental impact and costs. The results of the study show that the assessed decarbonization options are promising measures to reduce maritime GHG emissions with low-carbon-intensive electricity. The same order of GHG reduction is shown to be possible independent of the propulsion system and energy carrier used onboard. However, the carbon abatement cost ranges from 300 to 550 €/tCO₂eq, and there is a trade-off with environmental impacts such as human toxicity (cancer and non-cancer effects) and freshwater ecotoxicity mainly linked with the wind infrastructure used for electricity production. Electro-ammonia in fuel cells is indicated to be effective in terms of the carbon abatement cost followed by the so-called HyMethShip concept. The higher abatement cost of all options compared to current options indicates that major incentives and policy measures are required to promote the introduction of alternative fuel and propulsion systems.

Electrofuels, fuels produced from electricity, water, and carbon or nitrogen, are of interest as substitutes for fossil fuels in all energy and chemical sectors. This paper focuses on electrofuels for transportation, where some can be used in existing vehicle/vessel/aircraft fleets and fueling infrastructure. The aim of this study is to review publications on electrofuels and summarize costs and environmental performance. A special case, denoted as bio-electrofuels, involves hydrogen supplementing existing biomethane production (e.g. anaerobic digestion) to generate additional or different fuels. We use costs, identified in the literature, to calculate harmonized production costs for a range of electrofuels and bio-electrofuels. Results from the harmonized calculations show that bio-electrofuels generally have lower costs than electrofuels produced using captured carbon. Lowest costs are found for liquefied bio-electro-methane, bio-electro-methanol, and bio-electro-dimethyl ether. The highest cost is for electro-jet fuel. All analyzed fuels have the potential for long-term production costs in the range 90–160 € MWh⁻¹. Dominant factors impacting production costs are electrolyzer and electricity costs, the latter connected to capacity factors (CFs) and cost for hydrogen storage. Electrofuel production costs also depend on regional conditions for renewable electricity generation, which are analyzed in sensitivity analyses using corresponding CFs in four European regions. Results show a production cost range for electro-methanol of 76–118 € MWh⁻¹ depending on scenario and region assuming an electrolyzer CAPEX of 300–450 € kW_elec ⁻¹ and CFs of 45%–65%. Lowest production costs are found in regions with good conditions for renewable electricity, such as Ireland and western Spain. The choice of system boundary has a large impact on the environmental assessments. The literature is not consistent regarding the environmental impact from different CO₂ sources. The literature, however, points to the fact that renewable energy sources are required to achieve low global warming impact over the electrofuel life cycle.

To meet climate targets the emissions of greenhouse gases from transport need to be reduced considerably. Electrofuels (e-fuels) produced from low-CO₂ electricity, water, and carbon (or nitrogen) are potential low-climate-impact transportation fuels. The purpose of this review is to provide a technoeconomic assessment of the feasibility and potential of e-fuels for road, ocean, and air transport. The assessment is based on a review of publications discussing e-fuels for one or more transport modes. For each transport mode, (a) e-fuel options are mapped, (b) cost per transport unit (e.g. vehicle km) and carbon abatement costs are estimated and compared to conventional options, (c) prospects and challenges are highlighted, and (d) policy context is described. Carbon abatement costs for e-fuels (considering vehicle cost, fuel production and distribution cost) are estimated to be in the range 110–1250 € tonne⁻¹ CO₂ with e-gasoline and e-diesel at the high end of the range. The investigated combined biofuel and e-fuels production pathways (based on forest residues and waste) are more cost-competitive than the stand-alone e-fuel production pathways, but the global availability of sustainable biomass is limited making these pathways more constrained. While the potential for e-fuels to decarbonize the transport sector has been discussed extensively in the literature, many uncertainties in terms of production costs, vehicle costs and environmental performance remain. It is too early to rule out or strongly promote particular e-fuels for different transport modes. For e-fuels to play a significant role in transportation, their attractiveness relative to other transport options needs to be improved. Incentives will be needed for e-fuels to be cost-effective and increased clarity on how e-fuels are linked to existing policies is needed.

The climate impact caused by the shipping industry has increased over the past decades despite attempts to improve the energy efficiency of vessels and lower induced emissions. A tool in reducing climate and other environmental impacts is new low emissions propulsion technologies. These new technologies need to reduce harmful emissions not only in the tailpipe but also over the entire life cycle. This study uses life cycle assessment to investigate the life cycle environmental impact of a propulsion concept currently under development: the HyMethShip concept. The HyMethShip concept combines electro-methanol energy storage, an onboard pre-combustion carbon capture system, and a dual fuel internal combustion engine. The concept aims for an almost closed CO₂ loop by installing CO₂ capture onboard. The CO₂ is unloaded in port and converted into electro-methanol which is used to fuel the ship again. This is made possible by a pre-combustion process converting electro-methanol to hydrogen and CO₂. The assessment is conducted from well-to-propeller and focuses on ship operation in the North Sea in 2030. The results indicate that this technology could be an alternative to reduce the climate impact from shipping. The results show a lower impact on acidification, climate change, marine eutrophication, particulate matter, photochemical ozone formation, and terrestrial eutrophication compared to internal combustion engines run on either marine gas oil (0.1% sulphur content), biogenic methanol, fossil methanol, or electro-methanol. Electricity with low climate and environmental impact is likely required to achieve this, and low NO_x emissions from combustion processes need to be maintained. A potential trade-off is higher toxicity impacts from the HyMethShip concept compared to most other options, due to metal needs in wind power plants.