Pathways to zero-carbon shipping: Life cycle assessment of energy transition system configurations for container ships
Peng, Z.; Zhao, Y.; Notteboom, T.; Zhou, J. (2026). Pathways to zero-carbon shipping: Life cycle assessment of energy transition system configurations for container ships. Ocean Eng. 352: 124506. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.oceaneng.2026.124506
In: Ocean Engineering. Pergamon: Elmsford. ISSN 0029-8018; e-ISSN 1873-5258, meer
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| Author keywords |
Zero-carbon shipping;Energy transition;Container ships;Environmental assessment;Economic assessment;Multi-criteria decision analysis;fuels;technology |
| Auteurs | | Top |
- Peng, Z.
- Zhao, Y.
- Notteboom, T., meer
- Zhou, J.
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| Abstract |
Driven by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) net-zero framework, the container shipping industry is challenged to construct viable energy transition pathways. To enrich ongoing debates and actions, this study defines 172 possible energy system configurations onboard container ships, combining three main power systems, sixteen fuels, and three auxiliary energy systems. A quantitative model is constructed from a life-cycle perspective, covering Well-to-Wake (WtW) greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the extended annual carbon intensity indicator expressed in CO2 equivalents (CIICO2eq), total life cycle cost, and the IMO GHG fuel standard (GFS) penalty cost. To account for preference uncertainty and criteria interactions, the 2-additive Choquet integral is incorporated into the stochastic multicriteria acceptability analysis-2 (SMAA-2) framework to generate probabilistic rankings. Scenario variations in fuel prices and GFS-related parameters are introduced to assess the robustness of configurations. The results indicate that e-hydrogen combined with either mono-fuel internal combustion engine (MF ICE) or fuel cell (FC) achieves full decarbonization. MF gray marine gas oil (MGO) with solar or wind assistance offers strong cost performance. MF-based e-hydrogen configurations dominate across ship types, with wind-assisted systems being the preferred auxiliary option. This study provides a robust quantitative foundation for evaluating technological transition pathways in container shipping. |
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