Assessment of environmental risks in the transition to green fuels in the shipping industry

The shipping industry's plans to replace fossil fuels with green fuels have several well-described climate and environmental benefits, but far less well-studied are the possible environmental risks linked to a large-scale use of green fuels in ships. Sufficient knowledge of the physical and chemical properties, toxicity to the environment, as well as dispersion and degradation dynamics of the green fuels in the environment are therefore fundamental prerequisites for the shipping industry to implement the green transition with minimal risk of simply replacing one problem with another.

In this project, we will carry out the first in-depth mapping and environmental risk assessment of potential derived environmental effects that may arise from both emissions to the atmosphere and discharges to the marine environment from these green marine fuels. The project includes, among other things, a thorough review of the properties of the green fuels in both air and water, experimental studies on the impact on aquatic organisms, natural degradation mechanisms, the spread in both the atmosphere and marine environment during normal operation and in the event of accidents/spills, as well as life cycle assessment (LCA).
WP 5: Life Cycle Assessment
Collection of knowledge/data from collaboration partners and literature regarding the value chains of conventional and green fuels.
Life cycle assessments of conventional and green fuels under current and projected future production conditions at equivalent scale levels.
Comparison of conventional and green fuels based on environmental risks and sustainability indicators using multi-criteria decision support.
The studies in WP5 utilize knowledge from WP2-WP4 to ensure that environmental and climate impacts are assessed using the most up-to-date knowledge base.