The Carbonless Fuel That Could Change How We Ship Goods | Maria Gallucci | TED

翻译人员: Yip Yan Yeung 校对人员: Helen Chang

A few years ago, I sailed on a ship that comes from an earlier era,

几年前，我乘了一艘 早期制造的船，

when moving goods by sea didn't mean polluting the planet.

那时的海运不会污染地球。

Our voyage to the Caribbean was eye-opening,

我们驶向加勒比的 航程令人大开眼界，

and not just because I learned that apparently, I’m incurably seasick.

不仅是直观的感受， 我还晕船得厉害。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

I also saw what it's like

此外，我还看到了

when you take away the diesel fumes and the black smoke

没有了当今货船和港口喷出的

that spew from today's freighters and ports.

柴油废气和黑烟的场景。

Instead, our vessel smelled like fresh sea breeze

相反，我们的船闻起来 只有清新的海风、

and the bags of cardamom we carried

我们带的几包小豆蔻、

and all that camomile tea I was chugging.

和我畅饮的洋甘菊茶味。

Nearly every modern cargo ship relies on highly polluting fossil fuels.

几乎所有的现代货船 都依靠重污染化石燃料。

Fortunately, there's a way to clean up the industry,

幸运的是，有办法 可以净化这个产业，

beyond just reviving old-fashioned sailing ships,

不是通过复兴老土的帆船，

and it's ...

而是通过

green ammonia.

绿氨。

If you know anything about ammonia,

如果你对氨有所了解，

it's probably that it's stinky, it's toxic, it's potentially explosive.

它可能是最臭、最有毒， 甚至可能爆炸的物质。

So it's a great place to start, right?

所以这是个不错的起点，对吧？

Ammonia is mainly used today to make chemicals and fertilizers.

现在，氨主要用于化工和肥料。

But for many reasons, industry experts are convinced

但是由于各种各样的 原因，行业专家确信

that ammonia could be a game-changing way to drive giant cargo ships,

氨会为驱动巨型货轮 做出革命性改变，

and that it could be used safely and be cost-competitive.

它可以被安全地使用， 价格也会有竞争力。

Tens of thousands of freighters crisscross the oceans every day,

成千上万的货轮 每天在大洋上穿梭，

bringing the food we eat, the clothes we wear, the cars we drive.

带着我们要吃的食物、 要穿的衣服、要开的车。

Container ships alone

单单集装箱船

carry some four trillion dollars worth of goods by sea every year.

每年都会海运价值 约四万亿美元的货物，

That's roughly the GDP of Germany.

基本相当于德国的GDP。

At the same time,

与此同时，

the shipping industry contributes a significant share

运输行业是

每年全球温室气体排放的 罪魁祸首之一。

of the world's annual greenhouse gas emissions.

If shipping were a country,

如果运输行业是一个国家，

it'd be the sixth largest emitter of CO2,

它就是二氧化碳的第六大排放国，

trailing just behind Japan.

仅次于日本。

And as world economies grow and populations rise,

随着世界经济和人口增长，

shipping's emissions are expected to soar,

如果运输行业 不找一个清洁的方法，

unless the industry charts a cleaner course.

排放就注定会激增。

Green ammonia really first came to my attention in 2017,

我第一次注意到绿氨 是在 2017 年，

at the UN Climate Change Conference in Bonn, Germany.

在德国波恩召开的 联合国气候变化大会上。

At the panel I attended, ammonia seemed kind of like an aside,

我参加了一个论坛， 氨看起来像是个配角，

or something we should be keeping tabs on.

或者我们需要持续关注的东西。

Since then, the industry has really coalesced around ammonia

从那以后，运输行业聚焦了氨，

as the next dominant shipping fuel.

认为它有望成为 下一种主要运输燃料。

Chemical companies and investors

化学公司和投资者

are spending millions of dollars to build green ammonia plants,

花了几百万美元建造绿氨厂，

and shipbuilders and manufacturers

货轮制造商

are busy developing the necessary technology.

也在忙于开发相关技术。

The first ammonia-powered ships are just around the corner.

第一艘绿氨驱动的货轮就要来了。

So what's so special about this pungent gas?

所以这种刺鼻气体有什么特别的？

Well, to start, ammonia doesn't contain any carbon molecules,

嗯，首先，氨气没有任何碳分子，

so it doesn't create carbon dioxide when used as fuel.

所以作为燃料使用时， 不会产生二氧化碳。

Instead, it contains one part nitrogen --

相反，它包含了一个氮原子——

which is the main component of air --

空气的组成元素，

and three parts hydrogen, which is a building block of water.

和三个氢原子——水的组成元素。

It's possible to make ammonia without using any fossil fuels.

可以不使用任何化石燃料制造氨。

That's what makes it "green" ammonia.

这就是为什么它是“绿”氨。

Think of it like this:

想象一下：

instead of the oil wells and petroleum refineries

取代制造不环保 柴油的油井和炼油厂，

that make today's dirty diesel fuels,

picture solar panels or wind turbines or hydropower plants.

使用太阳能板、 风力发电机或者水电站。

Renewable electricity is the foundation of this whole ammonia-making ordeal.

可再生电力是整个 氨气制造历程的基石。

We can start with electrolysis,

我们可以从电解开始，

which uses electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen.

用电把水分解成氢气和氧气。

Then, renewables can power the process that separates nitrogen from air.

然后，可再生能源为 从空气中分离氮气提供能量。

And so with our hydrogen and nitrogen, we can combine the two

有了氢气和氮气，我们可以

in an industrial process at high temperatures

利用高温的工业程序合并二者，

to make NH3 -- ammonia.

制造NH3，即氨。

Now, if you want to use this ammonia to power

现在，如果你想用氨来驱动

your thousand-foot-long freighter,

你的巨型货轮，

you have two options.

有两个选择。

The first is an internal combustion engine,

第一个是内燃机，

so similar to how diesel is used in ships today

与现在货轮用的柴油相似，

but with certain modifications.

但是有些许改动。

Experts think that the first vessels to use ammonia in their engines

专家认为第一批 使用氨气引擎的货轮

will be chemical tankers,

会是化学品运输船，

because they already carry it in their cargo holds.

因为它们运输的货物里面 已经包含了氨气。

So they'll be like the early adopters.

所以它们可能会成为最早的用户。

The next options is to use a fuel cell.

另一个选择是用燃料电池。

Fuel cells create electricity through a chemical reaction,

燃料电池利用化学反应发电，

and that's what drives the ship's motors and turns the propellers.

借此驱动船只引擎，转动螺旋桨。

In Norway, work is underway

在挪威，

to launch the world's first ammonia-fuel-cell ship

世界第一艘氨燃料电池驱动船

正在研发过程中， 将在几年间完工。

in just a few years' time.

So we can make green ammonia,

所以我们可以制造绿氨，

and we can use it in fuel cells or engines.

用于燃料电池或引擎中。

The final piece of the ammonia puzzle is the infrastructure:

氨气的最后一个问题是基础设施：

the storage facilities, the pipelines, the distribution networks --

存储设施、管道、销售网，

everything that's needed to ensure a ship can fill its tanks

所有需要保证船只在世界各地都能

加满燃料的设施。

anywhere in the world.

And none of this is particularly novel,

这些都没什么特别的，

because we already have infrastructure

因为我们已经有了

为化工和肥料产业安装的设施。

for the chemical and fertilizer industries.

Now it just needs to be built near ports,

现在只需要把它们 小心地建在港口附近，

and at a global scale --

and with great caution.

遍布全球。

So what's needed to take ammonia mainstream?

所以氨气要成为主流需要些什么？

We can draw a rough parallel to the rise of electric cars.

我们可以大致类比电动车的崛起。

A decade ago,

十年前，

about 17,000 EVs were on the roads worldwide.

全球大概有一万七千辆电动车。

Then, more and more countries adopted policies,

然后，越来越多国家推行政策，

encouraging people to buy EVs,

鼓励人们购买电动车，

supporting manufacturers

支持厂商，

and to build up charging infrastructure.

建设充电设施。

And as sales climbed and production boomed,

随着销售量攀升和生产量暴增，

the cost of batteries and other components plummeted,

电池和其他部件的成本骤降，

making it easier for more people to afford electric cars.

让人们越来越容易买得起电动车。

So now, instead of 17,000 EVs, it's more like 10 million,

所以，远超于曾经的 17000 辆电动车，

现在有一千万辆，

and green ammonia could follow a similar path

绿氨也可以在运输行业如法炮制。

in the shipping industry.

Policies to curb emissions and incentivize green investments

减排和鼓励环保投资的政策

could spur a shift away from fossil fuels.

可以刺激人们放弃化石燃料。

And as ammonia catches on,

氨气流行之时，

fuel prices and technology costs could decline in step,

燃料价格和技术成本会随之降低，

enabling more ship operators to make the switch.

让更多的船舶营运者转向氨气。

And while all of that is happening,

到了那时，

a much bigger story will be playing out on the global scale:

一个更大的世界级图景会显现：

the rising development and plunging costs of renewable energy supplies.

可再生能源供应的 持续开发和成本降低。

Giant offshore wind farms,

巨型近海发电厂、

sprawling solar arrays and other technologies

大片的太阳能电池板

和其他可以给绿氨制造 提供电力的技术。

could provide the electrons needed to make that green ammonia.

Green ammonia might be the main fuel source

绿氨可能会是未来 货轮上的主要燃料来源，

on future cargo ships,

but it doesn’t have to be the only clean technology onboard.

但是它不一定得是 船上唯一的清洁能源。

Ships will likely use a combination of tools.

货轮可以利用一系列工具。

Batteries can already power the lights and equipment on giant ships,

电池可以为巨轮上的 照明和设备提供电力，

and certainly, smaller vessels can be fully battery-powered today.

当然了，现在的小型船只 可以完全依靠电池提供电力。

Design fixes, like supersleek hulls and dolphin-like flippers,

设计上的更新，比如超流线型 船壳和海豚鳍状的鳍板

can improve ships' efficiency.

可以增加船只效率。

And another technology that's quickly gaining traction

另外一项逐渐火爆的技术

is called "wind-assisted propulsion,"

叫做“风助推进”。

which puts a modern twist on an old idea of harnessing wind.

它是“御风”这个 老概念的现代版。

One cargo ship I sailed on in the North Sea

我在大西洋北海乘坐的一艘货轮

uses devices called "rotor sails."

使用一种叫旋筒风帆 （Rotor Sail）的设备。

These are 60-foot-tall tubes

这种设备是高达60英尺的管道，

that spin around like hyperactive barber's poles,

像超活跃版理发店 旋转招牌一样旋转，

which produces a forward thrust

提供了一个向前的推力，

and reduces demand on the diesel engines.

减少了对柴油发动机的需求。

It's really exciting to see these things whip around,

看到这些东西发展起来 真是令人激动，

but it's funny how almost blasé the crew was about the whole thing.

看到船员对它们 司空见惯的样子也十分有趣。

They push a button,

他们按下一个按钮，

the tubes swirl to life, the ships saves fuel,

管子转了起来，船节省了燃料，

and they can all carry on with their normal tasks,

在我们从鹿特丹

as we sailed from Rotterdam

开往北英格兰这个工业老古董

to this industrial eyesore in northern England,

再返回的途中， 船员都照原样各司其职。

and back again.

Meanwhile, of course,

当然，与此同时，

I spent my time admiring the sails,

我欣赏着帆，

and then curling up in the fetal position as the sea knocked our ship around.

然后我由于海浪击打着 我们的船蜷缩成婴儿状。

The maritime industry is at a pivotal moment

海运产业现正处于

in its long and storied history.

它漫长又丰富的 历史长河中的关键时刻。

Over the last few centuries,

过去的几百年来，

fossil fuels have powered the freighters that have transformed global trade,

化石燃料驱动着货轮， 改变了国际贸易，

connecting cotton fields to far-flung garment factories

联结了棉花地和遥远的服装厂，

把蓝莓从赤道的一边运往另一边。

and bringing blueberries from one side of the equator to the other.

煤炭驱动的蒸汽船 让人们可以走得更远更快，

Coal-powered steamships made it possible to travel farther and faster,

and diesel engines took this into overdrive.

柴油发动机加速了这个进程。

What began in the early 20th century as a humble canal boat

20 世纪早期， 小小的运河平底船

puttering along with this tiny engine

用它的小引擎噗噗地前进，

has since become giant container ships

如今已经变成巨型的集装箱船，

that stretch as long as skyscrapers stand tall.

长度长达摩天大楼的高度。

We know that to keep the planet from warming further,

我们知道，要防止地球继续变暖，

we must completely transform the way that we power our homes, our cars

我们必须改变 给我们的家、我们的车、

and the freighters that bring us all our precious stuff.

为我们运输珍贵货物的 货轮提供动力的方式。

The shipping industry must join the rest of the world

运输行业必须加入世界

in addressing climate change,

应对气候变化的队伍，

有了绿氨的帮助，它可以做到。

and it could do that with the help of green ammonia.

Thank you so much.

谢谢。

(Applause)

（掌声）