In project MENENS, 21 partners join forces, including RH Marine, to create a framework for using methanol as a safe, cost-effective, and sustainable fuel for shipping.

Methanol is a promising fuel for large-scale use and could possibly make a considerable contribution to reducing CO₂ emissions in shipping. Methanol is particularly interesting because of its energy density, the relatively high yield, reasonable production costs, limited flammability, and sustainable production methods, such as those using biomass.

The MENENS project focuses on transitioning to methanol-powered vessels and is divided into seven work packages. RH Marine coordinates the research and the development of the package MENENS Power and Energy systems that is focused on achieving a grid design and the energy systems, with topics, such as simulation, digital twins, IoT, and connectivity. The main challenges in respect of sustainable energy sources are the dynamic behaviour and their integration into a grid design.

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Despoina Mitropoulou, Manager Power Systems at RH Marine: “One of the greatest challenges in creating emission-free shipping is that right now there is nothing that can compete with the action radius and energy density of diesel. Methanol requires more room on board because of the lower energy yield compared to diesel. The use of methanol also requires new ideas for infrastructure, maintenance, and storage.”