Embodied CO₂ of Shipbuilding
Steel, machinery, electronics and paint add up to the embodied CO₂ of a new ship hull. Most of it is in the steel - ~2 t CO₂ per tonne of rolled ship-plate. Use this as the upper bound for lifecycle-GHG accounting when comparing retrofit vs newbuild.
Materials
Machinery + systems
- Steel embodied CO₂
- t
- Aluminium + Copper
- t
- Machinery CO₂
- t
- Paint CO₂
- t
- Total embodied CO₂
- t
Formula, assumptions, and limits
| Symbol | Meaning | Unit |
|---|---|---|
| Mass of material | t | |
| Emission factor for material | t CO₂ / t | |
| EF (t CO₂ / t) | ||
| 2.0 | ||
| 0.4–0.8 | ||
| 0.1–0.3 | ||
| 10 | ||
| 3 | ||
| 4 | ||
| 5 | ||
| 3.5 |
Source: WorldSteel - *Life Cycle Assessment methodology*; IMO MEPC - 4th IMO GHG Study; ISO 14040 - Life cycle assessment principles
In short
Estimate the embodied CO₂ in a new ship hull from steel, aluminium, copper, machinery and paint.