Sustainable change in marine transportation : the climate impact of the LNG and LBG value chain for Gasum Oy

Abstract

Climate change and global warming are impacting greatly on all aspects of modern society. There is considerable regulation for global maritime logistics on fuel emissions, and this makes industry operators look for cleaner engines and applicable fuel solutions. International maritime industry is being forced to change and is going through a period of transition from conventional marine fuels to an increasing choice of alternative fuels (DNV GL, 2019). Some of these are already available, such as liquefied natural gas (LNG). On the environmental side, switching to LNG means a reduction of approximately 20% in greenhouse gas emissions, complete removal of sulfur oxides (SOx) and particles (PM), and a reduction of nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions of up to 85% compared to conventional fuels (thinkstep, 2019). Obtaining LNG and by proportionally adding renewable liquefied biogas (LBG) in the mix has much potential for the total reduction of greenhouse gases (DNV GL - Maritime, 2018). When utilizing LNG as a maritime fuel, it is important to identify all sources contributing to greenhouse gases from LNG well-to-wake emissions and more specifically methane (CH4) emissions, since methane is an extremely potent greenhouse gas (GIE and MARCOGAS, 2019). A comprehensive approach enables gas and maritime industries to efficiently allocate best ways of working, and how and where to apply corrective actions. This research contributed to the gas industry’s comprehensive approach by studying and mapping the energy company Gasum’s value chain CH4 emissions within its LNG and LBG production and supply chain. Gasum is a Nordic gas and energy company owned by the state of Finland. Gasum promotes the transition to cleaner energy and circular economy solutions for both maritime and road transportation (Gasum Oy, 2020). The research was compiled together with Gasum’s existing data and data evaluated based on literature. The study describes two value chains, their CH4 emissions sources, and ways of mitigating the emissions. This increased understanding of the impact of the processes on the whole value chain emissions will further support Gasum when improving its processes and communicating the impacts of its products.