GLEAMS project overview
GLEAMS (Glycerine fuel for Engines and Marine Sustainability) is a Technology Strategy Board project under the Marine Vessel Efficiency competition.
The marine industry faces the double challenge of rising fuel costs and tightening emissions standards, including carbon emissions. The GLEAMS project is developing technology with which marine vessels can surpass the very highest regulatory standards required for Sulphur and Nitrous Oxide emissions, slash their carbon emissions, and reduce costs simultaneously.
It does this by allowing vessels to burn a widely available but under-used fuel, glycerol (glycerine), in conventional marine diesel engines, requiring only modest additional equipment that can be easily retro-fitted. See:
http://www.aquafuelresearch.com/uploads/9/7/3/7/973719/emissionimpossible.pdf
Glycerol is produced as a by-product of biofuel and as production increases, the supply of glycerol produced also increases. The marine industry is ideally placed to exploit this resource: not only is the non-toxic and non-volatile nature of glycerol highly valuable in a marine environment, but also the relatively low energy density of glycerol can be easily accommodated in the hull space of many vessel types.
At present, the technology for GLEAMS is being deployed into the construction sector in the form of combined heat & power plant. The project will develop this technology for marine use and explore how it can best be adapted to meet marine safety & environmental requirements.
Development for marine use will provide major value-add opportunities to the UK supply chain. The potential market for glycerol fuel covers a wide range of commercial vessels and the project will initially focus on:
* offshore support craft
* ferries
* survey vessels
* port/pilot boats
* fishing vessels
* dredgers
The project is facilitating the 'GLEAMS Interest Group' to enable the potential end users and other interested parties to learn more about the project outputs. Interactions with the group will assist the project to develop routes to market for this novel fuel. Group members will be first to see public project information and will have the opportunity to interact with the project consortium and other interested parties.
During this 12 month project group members will be invited to attend workshops and networking sessions as the technology develops.
Membership of the Interest Group is free of charge, to join please use the following link:
http://groupspaces.com/GLEAMSInterestGroup/join/
