Production Pathways for Hydrogen with a Zero Carbon Footprint

There are a number of pathways for the shipping industry to achieve the 2050 emission reduction targets of the Initial IMO GHG Strategy. Besides other technical and operational energy efficiency measures, employing zero carbon or net zero carbon fuels seems the only way to achieve the GHG reduction level aimed for in the long-term.

Hydrogen with a net zero or zero carbon footprint is the starting product for these fuels. Different production pathways of hydrogen have been outlined in the CIMAC white paper “The Need for Hydrogen with a Zero Carbon Footprint”. The final products are ranging from net zero carbon fuels like synthetic methanol containing carbon from renewable sources (e.g. from biomass combustion) up to zero carbon fuels which are carbon-free like ammonia.