Nuclear power plant drives decarbonisation in maritime transport
By Marek Grzybowski
In discussions on the decarbonisation of shipping and the use of alternative fuels on ships, a lack of a comprehensive and interdisciplinary approach is noticeable. Fleet operators have a very practical and cost-oriented approach. Ship designers and manufacturers have a specific approach to the issue.
Producers of alternative fuels are trying to protect their interests. Producers of methanol, ammonia and hydrogen are trying to convince people to their solutions without publicising the high energy consumption of the processes. Gas producers are trying to convince people that it is an ecological fuel.
The supporters of the use of nuclear fuel are still barely audible. Representatives of seaports are facing the challenge of meeting the various needs of operators. They are closely monitoring numerous solutions and emerging problems with bunkering or powering ships with electricity during lay-up.
Shipyards and their partners are practically not involved in the discussion. Or rather, it is difficult to find a shipyard powered by solar or wind energy in the world. Producers and distributors of electricity are hardly visible.
Alternative fuels in the shipyard’s April portfolio
And the number of ships powered by alternative fuels is slowly but steadily growing. According to April 2025 data from DNV’s Alternative Fuels Insights (AFI) platform, shipowners maintain demand for ships with engines powered by ecological fuels. In April this year, there was a noticeable demand for ships with engines powered by methanol – notes Jason Stefanatos, Global Decarbonization Director, DNV. On the DNV AFI platform, it was recorded that April this year ended with 24 new contracts, mainly in the container segment (14) and RoPax (9). There was a large demand for ships with LNG installations.
Source: Alternative Fuels Insights DNV, 2025
Shipyards ended the month with 20 orders for gas-powered vessels, including 16 vessels in the container segment. LNG also shows some diversification this month, with new orders in the cruise (2) and RoPax (2) segments. An order was also registered for two passenger vessels with hydrogen-powered engines. In total, 49 new vessels with alternative fuel engines (including gas) were contracted in April, which is a 5% increase compared to last year, Stefanatos says, emphasizing that this happened despite a decrease in the overall number of orders for new vessels.
Analysis shows that 2024 was exceptional, as it brought another increase in orders for ships powered by alternative fuels. A total of 515 such ships were contracted. Together with LNG tankers, there are twice as many orders. This means a 38% increase year-on-year compared to 2023. It is clear that IMO regulations and the threat of emission fees have mobilized shipowners to search for optimal solutions. The growing commitment of the industry to decarbonization is visible – emphasizes DNV.
The increase in orders for ships powered by alternative fuels was largely caused by the increase in demand for the construction of new container and car carrier ships. In 2024, 69% of all orders for container ships included ships that can use alternative fuels to power their engines. This is not only the result of the ecological approach to maritime transport of ship owners, but also of global logistics operators and shipowners of passenger and ro-ro ships.
Source: Alternative Fuels Insights DNV, 2025
The technological transition is underway
However, if we take a closer look at the contract portfolios, it is difficult to talk about radical progress in the decarbonization of shipping. The preferred fuel for engines is gas. Orders for ships with LNG systems accounted for 67% of contracts in 2024. The situation is not much changed by the fact that container and car carriers generated 62% of all orders for alternative fuels in 2024.
Knut Ørbeck-Nilssen, CEO Maritime at DNV, tries to draw optimistic conclusions from this information: “As we work to decarbonize the industry, we are encouraged by the increase in the number of ships using alternative fuels over the past few years. Although the latest data is promising, we must continue to move forward. The technological transition is underway, but the supply of alternative fuels is still low.”
And this is probably the key statement. Decarbonisation of maritime transport is not comprehensive. Port authorities pretend to have joined the decarbonisation process by building connections for charging electricity from the quay. This makes logical sense when the energy is obtained from renewable sources. The action is a game of appearances and makes no sense when the energy is obtained from fossil sources. In addition, it should be noted that ports have extensive industrial and logistics zones that only use renewable energy to a small extent.
Source: ABS Outlook 2024
Gas propulsion mainly for LNG tankers
The gas supply lobby is particularly active. LNG and LPG systems powering ship engines are installed primarily on tankers, which is clearly visible, for example, in statistics kept by ABS. It seems that ship operators have a similar approach. DNV states that “While methanol was driving new orders for alternative fuel ships at the beginning of the year, by the end of the year gas from LNG installations was the preferred alternative fuel in the industry. The number of orders for ships with LNG systems in 2024 reached 264, which is more than twice as many as in 2023 (130).”
Source: ABS Outlook 2024
Orders for ships that can use ammonia as an alternative fuel have also increased. In 2024, a total of 27 contracts were placed for ships with ammonia engines. In comparison, 2023 ended with contracts for 8 ships with ammonia installations. The first orders for ammonia-powered ships that are not gas carriers were placed in 2024 (10), mainly in the bulk carrier segment (5), according to data from DNV’s Alternative Fuels Insights platform.
Knut Ørbeck-Nilssen notes a very important thing: “As an industry, we need to work with fuel suppliers and other stakeholders to ensure that shipping has access to its share of alternative fuels in the future. It is also important to ensure the safety of seafarers during this transformation. This will require investment in upgrading skills and training.”
So, in the opinion of the director of DNV Marine, there is a lack of cooperation between industries. It should also be emphasized that training should cover not only seafarers but also, broadly speaking, porters and logisticians, operators of new equipment and infrastructure, and installations related to alternative fuels. For now, everyone is “scraping their own turnip.”
Source: ABS Outlook 2024
Nuclear power drives decarbonization
A comprehensive view of decarbonization has been presented by ABS experts in their latest study. Nuclear propulsion may be the basis for the use of alternative fuels in the maritime industries, ABS experts suggest in Outlook 2024: Beyond the Horizon: Carbon Neutral Fuel Pathways and Transformational Technologies.
The construction of a nuclear power plant in Pomerania puts the possibilities of using the potential of sea ports, shipyards and plants operating in the Pomeranian Special Economic Zone in a completely different perspective. It is precisely nuclear energy that can be used as the basis and an important factor enabling decarbonization. According to ABS, energy from a nuclear power plant “Supports the production of emission-free fuels and can be integrated with ships in order to [power them – MG] drive with alternative fuels or can power drilling platforms.”
This quite novel perspective on decarbonizing maritime industries is based on the assumption that “Advanced nuclear reactors have many possible implementations in the maritime [industry decarbonization – MG] chain due to their potential flexibility.” The advantage of these solutions is that they can be used in “different size and power output configurations, long production cycles, large-scale production capabilities and a small carbon footprint.”
Source: ABS Outlook 2024
According to ABS, “the main barriers to the use of nuclear energy in the process of comprehensive decarbonization are regulatory gaps” regarding mobile reactors and non-standard solutions. Today, regulatory authorities still perceive nuclear energy in a very conservative way. By building nuclear energy and offshore wind energy from scratch, we have a chance to break stereotypes.
Therefore, ABS’s claim that “Electrification of ports using clean nuclear energy would help in the pursuit of decarbonization by facilitating the electrification of port equipment and also providing power to ships from quays” is fully consistent with the goals of decarbonization of maritime transport.
Nuclear energy can also be a stable source of energy for the production of fuels such as ammonia and hydrogen. Ships can therefore be indirectly powered by nuclear reactors. If the entire complex of processes is additionally optimized using their computerization, IoT tools and AI, we can achieve high efficiency of the entire system from the manufacturer to the end user.
ABS President, CEO and Chairman Christopher J. Wiernicki recently stated that “decarbonization is more than just a CO2 emissions story per ton and per mile, but a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reset and revitalize national maritime strategies, rebuild port infrastructure, revitalize shipbuilding and create jobs.”