The Chinese city of Shanghai has set itself a target to build a green shipping fuels “filling centre” in its port by 2030 that can dispense up to one million tonnes of green methanol and green ammonia a year for use in the maritime sector.
If realised, the giant filling centre would likely become the largest dispenser of green hydrogen-based shipping fuels in the world — and the city has plans to then turn it into a trading hub and a spot market.
In a notice published on Friday, the Shanghai authorities laid out a roadmap, which envisages the city producing 300,000 tonnes of green hydrogen-based fuels locally, with another million tonnes secured from outside (which at 1.3 million tonnes, is higher than the target capacity of the filling centre).
To facilitate the 300,000-tonne target, the local government intends to “accelerate” green hydrogen projects in and around the city — although it is not clear whether this includes financing — as well as related renewables infrastructure such as offshore wind, and carbon capture and storage.
Carbon dioxide for synthesis with green hydrogen to make methanol would be sourced from plants processing wet garbage and agricultural and forestry waste, while Shanghai also plans to utilise energy crops planted on the tidal flats surrounding the urban area.
And in pursuit of the remaining volumes, the southeastern city plans to establish links with resource-rich areas in northeastern and northwestern China.
In particular, it wants to support — and secure supplies from — Shanghai Electric’s 680MW Taonan green hydrogen and biomass demonstration project, and China Energy Engineering Corporation’s 640MW Songyuan ammonia project, both of which are under construction in Jilin province to the north.
The plan comes at the same time as an instruction from the Chinese government to the country’s provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities to “actively and orderly advance hydrogen production from renewable energy”, while pointing to the parts of the economy that should be targeted for decarbonisation through H2.
One of the nine instructions from Beijing is to gradually implement pilot applications of clean liquid fuels for vehicles and support regions in piloting the use of biodiesel, bio-jet fuel, bio-natural gas, and green hydrogen-ammonia-methanol in shipping and aviation.
Shanghai is also eyeing the development of an internationally-recognised certification system for shipping fuels, based around the filling centre, that would cater to producers of green H2-based fuels selling to foreign shipping customers in Shanghai port.
This would then be a springboard to develop a spot market for green fuels, it said.
“By 2030, strive to build a green fuel spot trading market, explore the establishment of a green fuel futures trading market, and develop related financial derivatives,” stated Shanghai Port, in its list of aims.
Research and development into green maritime fuel production technology would also be baked in to the roadmap, with the aim of “seizing an advantageous position” in the green fuels supply chain, with the filling station built to meet all international standards.
