Using the seas to move materials, goods and people is far cheaper than road transport, but it comes at an environmental cost. There is therefore a critical need to push the marine sector towards net zero. The UK Government’s Department for Transport has established a new £200m body, UK Shore, to decarbonise the marine sector. Meanwhile in the last year, a UK shipbuilding strategy to make the UK an international leader in green maritime has been outlined by Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Professor Alasdair Cairns, principal investigator on the project and director of Nottingham University’s Powertrain Research Centre, said: “There’s currently significant interest in green ammonia as a fuel for decarbonised commercial shipping. Green ammonia is a gas easily converted into a liquid in a process that is 100 per cent renewable and carbon-free, such as using hydrogen from water electrolysis and nitrogen separated from the air. “One of the challenges with international shipping is the sheer size and range of the vessels producing the majority of the greenhouse gas emissions and issues with energy density for competing solutions such as electric and fuel cell. “The problem is, when you look at competing energy vectors like batteries or fuel cells, they just don’t have the energy density. Ammonia could have diesel-like efficiency and energy density, and is cheap and easy to store as a liquid fuel. Electric or fuel cell propulsion would work for smaller boats, but it’s not really an option in mega tonne ships that are sailing across oceans in a single voyage. Our work will provide a road map of vessel size, types and propulsion types.” In addition to identifying alternatives to fossil fuel power in future fleets, retrofitting existing vessels is a major obstacle to tackle for the project. Big ships have engines that are in service for up to 30 years; many of which will still be out on the seas for decades to come. The five-year MariNH3 programme, which includes partners such as Cummins, Rolls-Royce, MAHLE Powertrain and the Department of Transport Maritime and Coastguard Agency, hopes to solve this problem by exploring retrofit engine technology solutions that can address issues around engine efficiency, with minimised end energy use and reduced pollution. A key concern is the current approach being adopted by some marine engine manufacturers, which involves ammonia dual fuelling, which means replacing some of the marine diesel with ammonia as a ‘clean fuel supply’ as a retrofit solution. Typically, up to 40 per cent natural gas (diesel) is still used in these engines, which doesn’t help with local pollution and limits decarbonisation efforts. As a group, the MariNH3 consortium firmly believe a mix of technologies will be required for the most effective decarbonisation of marine as there is no “silver bullet” fuel or technology to get to Net Zero. However, green ammonia is set to play a key role in marine’s decarbonisation efforts. In liquid form, ammonia not only has significant cost advantages in terms of fuel storage, it can also be used in existing marine engines, however it burns roughly five times slower under like-for-like conditions than fossil fuels and it produces NOx emissions – both major issues that need to be addressed by the MariNH3 team. Professor Alasdair Cairns said: “Ammonia produces NOx, which is a greenhouse gas and pollutant. It also burns five times slower than fossil fuels. Therefore marine engines powered by ammonia need ultra-low NOx combustion systems – a combination system that speeds up combustion.” Industry partners helping the team to address this challenge include MAHLE Powertrain. MAHLE’s novel ‘Jet Ignition’ technology is a fast burning combustion system currently used in Formula 1 engines, which the team aims to scale and transfer to marine where the fast burning could allow the engine to operate under conditions where NOx can be avoided or reduced. “Formula 1 has already made the leap in its engine design to be capable of running on sustainable fuels. The technology transfer challenge from automotive to marine is to see if it can be scaled up to the levels needed in long-distance shipping,” acknowledges Professor Cairns. Another UK company involved is Dolphin-N2, bringing its Split Cycle engine technology to the programme which the team hopes could serve as a long-term replacement solution to achieve diesel-like efficiency whilst being ultra-low NOx. In parallel to engineering the best technical solutions, the project will hone policy guidance, to develop technologies and a regulatory framework which are “right first time” and appropriately scaled across marine.

The start of the second quarter saw a mild growth acceleration in the UK manufacturing sector. The rate of expansion in output improved from March’s five-month low, leading to a further solid increase in staffing levels. The seasonally adjusted S&P Global / CIPS UK Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index® (PMI®) rose to 55.8 in April, up from 55.2 in March and the earlier flash estimate of 55.3. The PMI – which is calculated as a weighted average of five subindices – has signalled expansion for 23 successive months. Manufacturing production increased across the consumer, intermediate and investment goods industries. Solid rates of expansion were registered in the latter two categories, while the expansion at consumer goods producers was only marginal. Companies linked higher production to increased intakes of new business, reduced delivery delays (compared to earlier in the year) and efforts to clear backlogs of work. The outlook also remained positive, with almost 55% of companies expecting output to rise over the coming year. However, the overall degree of confidence slumped to a 16-month low. Strong growth headwinds continued to buffet manufacturers during April. New order growth slipped to its weakest in the current 15-month upturn, stymied by lower intakes of new export business and the impact on demand from rising selling prices. Weaker foreign demand reflected subdued conditions in overseas markets, the war in Ukraine and transportation issues. Lacklustre demand from the EU was linked to longer delivery times, customs checks and higher shipping costs post-Brexit. Inflationary pressures continued to build at manufacturers. Input costs rose at the second-strongest pace in the survey history. Around 85% of companies registered an increase in purchase prices, while there were no reports of a decrease (a survey first). The rate of inflation at consumer goods producers hit a series-record high. A broad range of inputs were reported to be up in price. This included chemicals, energy, food, freight, fuels, gas, metals, oil, plastics, polymers, timber, and transportation (air, land and sea). Several companies simply noted that “everything” cost more. Supplier price increases, market forces, the war in Ukraine, general inflationary pressure and China lockdowns also contributed to higher purchase prices. April also saw output charges increase to a record extent, as manufacturers acted to pass on rising costs. Almost 61% of companies reported an increase in selling prices, compared to less than 1% initiating a reduction. Rates of output charge inflation were either at, or near to, series-record highs across the consumer, intermediate and investment goods sectors. Employment rose for the sixteenth month running in April, as companies reacted to increased production and rising order backlogs, prepared for expected future growth and addressed staff shortages. Job creation was seen in the consumer, intermediate and investment goods industries and at SMEs and large-sized companies alike. Purchasing activity increased for the fifteenth month in a row during April. Companies reported buying inputs in advance of expected price rises, to build-up safety stocks and to guard against further supply chain disruption. Vendor lead times lengthened again in April. This reflected input shortages, port congestion, COVID issues, a lack of transportation capacity (especially for trucks and shipping), customs clearance delays, lockdown in China and the war in Ukraine. Commenting on the latest survey results, Rob Dobson, director at S&P Global, said: “The improved expansion of output at manufacturers, while positive in itself, failed to mask the continued headwinds buffeting the sector at the start of the second quarter. New business growth near-stalled as a slowdown in the domestic market was accompanied by a further deterioration in export orders. “Manufacturers and their clients are struggling as lockdowns in China and the Ukraine war exacerbate stretched global supply chains, the inflationary picture worsens and geopolitical tensions rise. Specific to the UK, Brexit represents an additional headwind, notably via lost EU customers, increased paperwork, customs checks and border delays. Business optimism has fallen to a 16-month low as companies become more cautious about the future outlook. “The inflationary situation is getting increasingly fraught. Input costs rose to the second-greatest extent in the 30-year survey history, leading to a record increase in factory gate selling prices. Around 85% of manufacturers reported higher purchasing costs, compared to no reports of a decrease, with several firms simply noting that ‘everything’ was up in price. Worryingly, consumer goods producers reported record increases in both output charges and input costs, which is likely to further constrain household spending and reinforce the cost-of-living crisis.” Duncan Brock, group director at the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply, said: “In spite of the softer rate of expansion in new business, the manufacturing sector held its ground in April, benefiting from work already in hand and recent easing of supply chain stresses. “However, it is difficult to see where ongoing growth will come from in the coming months as new order growth was the most sluggish in over a year. Higher costs and shortages took a bite out of potential opportunities with clients hesitating to place orders and Brexit obstacles weighing down as work from overseas shrank for a third month in a row. Not one business in the survey reported paying less for their materials in April and 85% of supply chain managers reported higher costs, leading to the second highest inflationary rise in PMI history. “Manufacturers are certainly feeling the pressure resulting in less optimism for the year ahead. With the lowest business expectations since December 2020, the global economy will need to pull a rabbit out of the hat to give manufacturers the leg up they need.”