Germany’s first research ship to run on green methanol was christened on Tuesday. According to the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI), the Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research, it is the world’s first seagoing vessel of this type. The cutter was christened by Federal Research Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger (FDP) on Tuesday in Berne (Wesermarsch district) near Bremen. “As a fuel, methanol has so far been an experiment,” said Stark-Watzinger. “That’s why today it is such an important step on the way to clean shipping.”
AWI researchers travel across the North Sea on the “Uthörn” and investigate how the sea has changed. In doing so, they repeatedly record the physical, chemical and biological condition of the sea at the same points. According to the AWI, this results in a valuable series of measurements that the researchers can use to detect the smallest changes in the environment. “We can do research in wind farms, we can survey the ground, above all we can travel far to neighboring countries and actually help our colleagues,” said Karen Wiltshire, deputy director of the AWI, about the multifunctional ship.
First tasks are already waiting
With the help of the cutter, one will find out whether the German Bight is recovering from the river inputs of the 70s and 80s – the nutrients and the pollutants – said Wiltshire. It will also be seen whether damaged seabeds are regenerating and the effects of climate change will also be examined. The “Uthörn”, which was named after a small island next to Sylt, is also used to train marine biologists.
The construction of the cutter cost 14.45 million euros. It was fully funded by the Federal Ministry of Research, according to AWI Administrative Director Karsten Wurr. The “Uthörn” was built by the Fassmer shipyard in Berne.
According to the AWI, the “Uthörn” runs with two electric traction motors. The energy for this is supplied by two combustion engines that are powered by methanol instead of marine diesel. No soot particles got into the air – in contrast to the combustion of petrol, diesel and heavy oil. Because methanol only has about half the energy density of diesel, the “Uthörn” was equipped with significantly larger tanks than its predecessor.
It has not yet been finally clarified where the green methanol to operate the ship will come from. The Laeisz shipping company, which operates the ship on behalf of the AWI, is currently in talks with two possible suppliers, said Henning Westphal from Laeisz. Green methanol, a nearly carbon-neutral fuel, is created when the energy to produce it comes from renewable sources. For this purpose, hydrogen is produced with the help of wind energy, which reacts with CO2 to form methanol. The CO2 can come from a sewage treatment plant, for example. According to AWI, the predecessor ship, the old “Uthörn”, consumed an average of 76 tons of diesel oil per year.
