In focus: the world gathers to curb climate change

The 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP26, is in full effect in Glasgow. During the conference, nations are expected to speak out their ambition towards mitigating climate change. These pledges will have their effect on the offshore energy and maritime industry.

For instance, the United States pitched in with plans that will change the oil and natural gas industry. Their Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) used COP26 as a platform to propose comprehensive new protections to sharply reduce pollution from the oil and natural gas industry – including, for the first time, reductions from existing sources nationwide.

As explained by the agency, the proposed new Clean Air Act rule would lead to significant, cost-effective reductions in methane emissions and other health-harming air pollutants. The proposal is in line with President Biden’s commitment to action on climate change.

Not only countries take a step in the right direction. Aker Offshore Wind and Aker Clean Hydrogen, together with DNV, have used the COP26 conference to unveil a project utilising 10 GW of floating offshore wind capacity to power multiple floating installations which will produce green hydrogen for onwards transmission to a net-zero hydrogen refinery on Shetland, Scotland.

The refinery will produce a range of zero-carbon energy solutions for local consumption and export across the world, including ammonia, liquid hydrogen, and synthetic fuels.

The UK is in many ways leading the way when it comes to renewable energy. Marine energy can be a significant part of that energy mix, new research led by the University of Plymouth has shown. The result of the study was that tidal stream power has the potential to deliver 11% of the UK’s current annual electricity and play a significant role in the government’s drive for net-zero.

Scientists from across the UK agree that harnessing the power of the ocean’s tidal streams can provide a predictable and reliable means of helping to meet the country’s future energy demand, according to the study. However, if that is to be realised, it will require government funding to accelerate innovation and drive down its cost so that future projects can provide cheap electricity, the study states.

In another study, this time from the University of Aberdeen, the focus was to look at the effects of decommissioning oil and gas structures on marine ecosystems. An uncrewed surface vessel (USV) has completed the first-ever uncrewed survey of fish populations around oil platforms in the North Sea. It used sonar to collect data on fish numbers around several oil platforms off Scotland’s northeast coast.

Fish have long been known to gather at offshore structures. However, the extent of this aggregation, and whether it leads to an increase in productivity to benefit our fish stocks, remains unclear. The next stage of the project will see the University of Strathclyde use the survey data to model the expected effects of a range of decommissioning strategies on the surveyed fish populations.

When it comes to the energy transition and sustainable solutions, these knowledge institutes are essential. Proof of that is the initiative of Australian energy giant Santos, which has partnered with Australia’s national science agency CSIRO to develop CSIRO Carbon Assist technology which removes CO2 directly from the atmosphere.

Specifically, it is to serve Santos’ Moomba carbon capture and storage project in South Australia. With Moomba CCS having capacity to store up to 20 million tonnes of CO2 every year for 50 years, Moomba could be a large-scale, commercial CCS hub not only reducing Santos’ emissions but helping to cost-effectively negate emissions elsewhere in the Australian economy.

During the COP26 foresights are shared about a sustainable future. With those foresights come futuristic designs. Like the one of Boundary Layer Technologies, a California-based marine technology start-up. They have launched a fully electric hydro foiling ferry concept design with the name ELECTRA.

It has a range of up to 100 nautical miles and cruise speed of 40 knots — twice the speed and range of existing electric ferries due to Boundary Layer Technology’s hydrofoil technology and podded propulsion system.