SRC Methanol Superstorage Technology gains RINA AiP

Simone Manca, vice president of RINA North Asia (left) awards Approval in Principle for the Methanol Superstorage solution to Hannes Lilp, CEO and founder, SRC Group. [Photo: RINA]

Classification society RINA has granted Approval in Principle (AiP) to the SRC Methanol Superstorage Technology, an innovative solution that makes it possible to integrate methanol fuel tanks seamlessly into the limited storage space available onboard a ship.

The comprehensive AiP confirms that the highly space efficient methanol and ethanol fuel storage solution, developed by Estonia-based SRC Group, complies with RINA’s Guide for AiP of Novel Technologies.

Conventionally produced methanol is fairly easy to store and handle. Renewably sourced, methanol offers shipping a clear pathway towards the IMO target of achieving Net Zero by around 2050, with interim IMO guidelines covering the safety of ships using methanol/ethanol. Around 240 methanol-capable ships are in service or on order.

As methanol is less energy dense than HFO, a methanol fuel tank requires a capacity 2.4 times that of a HFO to generate the same energy, with consequences for ship range and design.

In practice, ship tanks storing low flashpoint fuels include a cofferdam of at least 600 mm to separate the internal and external walls.

SRC Methanol Superstorage replaces the internal wall-cofferdam-external wall solution with a solid elastomer core sandwiched between two steel plates. Providing a triple barrier against leakage, the 25 mm thick sandwich plate system (SPS) technology walls deliver 85% more volume. Already in maritime and offshore use for over two decades, SPS Technology can satisfy A60 fire rating equivalence and is approved by all major members of the International Association of Classification Societies.

Based on its most recent Rules for Classification of Ships, the RINA Methanol Superstorage AiP takes account of IMO’s interim safety guidelines and amendments to the International Code of Safety for Ships Using Gases or Other Low-Flashpoint Fuels. It confirms the solution “has proper capability to achieve equivalent level of safety to prescriptive requirements and improve the utilization rate of space as required for methanol and ethanol fuel storage onboard different ship types”.

“RINA always encourages maritime industry innovators,” commented Simone Manca, vice president of RINA North Asia. “Approval in Principle for SRC Methanol Superstorage Technology recognizes that the solution offers significant potential as an enabler for adopting methanol as a marine fuel.”

RINA’s comprehensive Methanol Superstorage AiP explicitly acknowledges the solution’s methanol resistance, and acceptance of the principles of design details overall including perimeter bar connections. Securing AiP establishes that no issue has been identified that would block a given solution from meeting IMO requirements, or class society rules at the final detail design stage.

“This is another sizable step forward for industry acceptance of Methanol Superstorage and offers owners clarity as they evaluate an alternative fuel that will stand the test of time in meeting shipping’s decarbonization targets,” said Alex Vainokivi, innovation manager, SRC Group. “Methanol Superstorage can be retrofitted without significant disruption to a vessel’s general arrangement. RINA’s comprehensive AiP confirms that it is applicable across a full range of ship types.”