Winning Formula

(Article originally published in Jan/Feb 2026 edition.)

For residents living near ports, seafarers working aboard ships and passengers stepping ashore, the question is no longer abstract: Why am I still breathing this?

Sulphur oxides (SOx), nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulate matter (PM) from ship exhausts are a daily reality in many port cities. A 2023 World Bank report estimated that more than 250 million people globally are exposed to air pollution around ports, underscoring that maritime emissions are not only a climate issue but a public-health issue.

Regulators are increasingly shifting the conversation beyond what comes out of the funnel to *well-to-wake emissions* — the full carbon and pollution footprint of a fuel – from how it's produced and transported to how it's ultimately consumed onboard.

Beginning in 2030, the E.U.'s FuelEU Maritime regulation will require container and passenger vessels to connect to onshore power supply when docked or demonstrate equivalent well-to-wake emissions reductions through alternatives such as biofuels, fuel cells and e-fuels. What matters now is not which fuel wins in 2050 but what can be deployed today without disrupting operations.

As regulators push shipowners to account for emissions beyond the exhaust stack, including upstream fuel production and transport often captured under so-called Scope 3 emissions, attention is shifting toward systems that make those fuels usable at sea.

That lens puts the spotlight on companies like Auramarine, a Finnish specialist in alternative-fuel readiness for marine fuel supply systems, and PowerCell, a Swedish hydrogen fuel cell developer bringing megawatt-scale electric power into commercial maritime operations.

Auramarine: A Layered Approach

Auramarine frames today's reality through a pragmatic split between newbuilds and retrofits.

In newbuilds, momentum is shifting. "The focus, especially in newbuilds, is increasingly methanol-fueled dual-fuel vessels," the company says, pointing to an orderbook that already runs into the hundreds of methanol-capable ships expected over the next few years.

Retrofits are being shaped by safety rules, downtime and economics. Auramarine says the near-term focus is on fuels that are directly compliant with SOLAS Chapter II-2 without requiring alternative design approvals. In Auramarine's internal terminology, "biofuels" refers specifically to liquid, non-toxic, non-volatile fuels with a flashpoint above 60 degrees Celsius, including hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) and fatty acid methyl ester (FAME). These can often be drop-in replacements (i.e., usable in existing engines and fuel systems with little or no modification).

"These SOLAS II-2 compliant fuels provide an opportunity to meet carbon reduction targets with minimal capital expenditure," Auramarine explains. It adds that "especially the biofuels covered by ISO 8217:2024 offer a rare combination of safety, immediate emissions reduction and near zero capital expenditure," making them one of the most practical tools for short- to mid-term decarbonization.

Beyond higher-flashpoint biofuels, Auramarine says operators are evaluating low-flashpoint and gas-fueled dual-fuel pathways such as methanol, ethanol, liquefied biogas (LBG) and ammonia, particularly for newbuilds and younger vessels.

For smaller fleets, "emissions pooling" (meeting emissions targets collectively rather than ship by ship) can also play a role, helping manage exposure to the Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII) framework and the E.U. Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) while technical upgrades are phased in.

The result, Auramarine says, is a layered approach: near-term efficiency improvements, mid-term system upgrades and longer-term alternative-fuel strategies with the fuel supply system increasingly treated as a critical enabler of that multi-step transition.

From a fuel-supply perspective, the easiest retrofit pathways are those that avoid structural change. "Higher-flashpoint, drop-in biofuels fit this best," Auramarine says, because they typically require minimal tank, piping or safety-system modifications, delivering meaningful carbon reductions with low capital expenditure and minimal downtime.

Vessel age heavily influences practicability: Older ships tend to stick with low-capital blends, mid-life vessels can justify moderate upgrades and younger ships and newbuilds typically support the economics of full dual-fuel installations aimed at long-term transition readiness.

Automation and monitoring are becoming central to this equation, and owners are getting more disciplined about what they measure.

Auramarine says decisions often hinge on fuel-consumption stability, system reliability and uptime, maintenance impact and component lifetime, automation and reporting quality and operational flexibility when switching fuels or modes: "The most successful solutions are those that deliver measurable emissions benefits without introducing operational risk and that support a transparent, data-driven compliance pathway."

Where is adoption moving fastest?

Auramarine points to segments where regulatory exposure, commercial pressure and predictable operations align. Short-sea, feeder and regional vessels with frequent calls in European waters are often early adopters. Tanker, ro-ro and ro-pax fleets with regular schedules and centralized fleet management are also moving quickly.

In the newbuild space, container feeders and chemical and product tankers show strong momentum for methanol dual-fuel solutions.

PowerCell: Past the Pilot Stage

PowerCell approaches the problem from the conversion side: turning clean fuels into electricity onboard. It argues that while deep-sea tonnage dominates emissions, a large near-term opportunity exists in smaller vessels.

"While large ocean-going ships make up approximately 85 percent of the industry's carbon footprint," the company explains, "the other 15 percent of smaller shortsea vessels, representing approximately 150 million tons of annual carbon emissions, can almost all realistically be decarbonized via fuel cells right now."

Fuel cells have historically been strongest in short-sea, fixed-route operations like passenger ferries and in shoreside "cold ironing" (powering berthed ships from shore) solutions where grid connections are limited.

PowerCell says that picture has broadened: "Hydrogen and methanol marine fuel cell systems matured significantly in 2025" with commercial orders now spanning ro-pax vessels, bulk carriers, superyachts and cruise ships. Megawatt-scale orders indicate growing confidence in longer, more varied duty cycles.

A milestone was PowerCell's first commercial sale of its integrated methanol-to-power system, valued at approximately $17 million and including a 2 MW installation (enough to power approximately 2,000 homes).

For cruise operators, the company sees a clear target: auxiliary engines and generators that power hotel loads. Fuel cells can eliminate SOx, NOx, and PM at the point of use and reduce greenhouse gas emissions when powered by green fuels. Proton-exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells also offer a practical onboard advantage: low vibration and noise.

Methanol reforming enables onboard conversion of methanol to hydrogen, providing a practical pathway to hydrogen-electric systems without waiting for dedicated hydrogen bunkering infrastructure to mature.

PowerCell adds that methanol can be used about 30 percent more efficiently in fuel cells than in internal combustion engines and that PEM systems deliver high power density in a compact footprint. It argues that reformer technology can also make fuel cells more fuel-agnostic over time and that developing ammonia reformers is technologically feasible, offering a pathway toward a zero-carbon solution if fuel production scales.

Demonstration projects remain essential for an industry built around reliability.

"The most important learning comes from operational data over time," PowerCell says, including reliability, uptime, degradation rates, maintenance needs and performance under variable loads and conditions. It says this kind of transparency is what de-risks adoption and builds confidence among shipowners, yards, class societies and regulators.

One Ship at a Time

Fuel availability, for now, sets the outer boundary.

PowerCell expects renewable methanol and other green fuels to remain scarce in the near term. Auramarine faces the same operational challenge: more complex fuels require careful design, system integration, crew training and real-world operating experience.

Progress is incremental by necessity, but each vessel that clears those hurdles lowers the barrier for the next.

The opinions expressed herein are the author's and not necessarily those of The Maritime Executive.