Decarbonising inland ship power system: Alternative solution and assessment method

In the context of harsh emission control and ecological environment protection, the shipping industry is transforming and upgrading towards greening, decarbonisation, and electrification. The energy and power types of inland ships are becoming increasingly diversified. It is urgently important to investigate strategies for decarbonising inland ship power systems. First, the development status of inland shipping in China is introduced with respect to shipping resources, existing problems, and driving factors of green development. Then, the power requirements of inland ships and the characteristics of new power systems are analysed, and on this basis, alternative solutions for inland ship power systems are proposed. Two case studies are carried out, focussed on canal and Yangtze River ships using battery power and hybrid power, respectively. Moreover, environmental and economic impacts during the life cycle of the two typical alternative solutions are assessed. Finally, an uncertainty analysis method is adopted to assess the reliability of the life cycle assessment and life cycle cost assessment results. The results indicate that compared with traditional diesel power, battery power and hybrid power have lower lifetime CO2 emissions and costs, under four considered carbon credit scenarios. The proposed alternative solutions and assessment methods are of significance for guiding the low-carbon development of inland ship power.