Dr Charlie McKinlay

Research scientist in clean maritime fuels and technologies

Expert in hydrogen, e-fuels, and fuel cell technologies

Biography

Dr Charlie McKinlay is a researcher and consultant in energy systems, particularly for the application of shipping. He has several publication on topics including: future fuels (ammonia, hydrogen, methanol etc), fuel cells and energy management. He now continues researching future fuels for shipping in his role at Lloyd’s Register Maritime Decarbonisation Hub.

Publications

Charlie McKinlay‪University of Southampton‬ - ‪‪Cited by 239‬‬

A wind-to-wake approach for selecting future marine fuels and powertrainsGlobal shipping contributes (2.8%) to greenhouse gas emissions and needs to find future fuels which will allow the International Maritime organisation…

Routes-based action plan: a toolkit | LRA routes-based action plan methodology that is designed to kickstart the uptake of clean maritime fuels.

Hydrogen as a deep sea shipping fuel: Modelling the volume requirementsRecent targets have increased pressure for the maritime sector to accelerate the uptake of clean fuels. A potential future fuel for shipping is hydrog…

Fuel cells for shipping: To meet on-board auxiliary demand and reduce emissionsThe reduction of harmful emissions from the international shipping sector is necessary. On-board energy demand can be categorised as either: propulsio…

ZEMBA e-fuel report | LRNew ZEMBA report finds e-fuel-powered shipping services are projected to be available for ZEMBA’s next tender.

Sustainable First Movers report | LRSustainable First Movers Initiative Identification Tool

The Future of Maritime Fuels | LRThis report reviews a range of fuel mix projections, identifying two alternative paths – hydrogen-based fuels scenarios and biofuels scenarios.

Recent talks/articles

First cargo ship powered by 'green methanol' has begun maiden voyageA container ship on its way from South Korea to Denmark is using methanol fuel that reduces emissions – although future fuels may be greener

New Scientist Interview

Riviera Maritime Media Serving the information needs of the world’s maritime, offshore and energy industries for over 30 yearswww.rivieramm.com/webinar-library/marine-fuel/pathway-to-2030-and-beyond-hydrogen-as-a-marine-fuel

Scaling up to meet demand | LRLR Maritime Decarbonisation Hub analysis suggests that whilst e-ammonia could emerge as the most highly adopted hydrogen-based fuel, increased production of all fuel types is required.

Charting the future of maritime: A century aheadThe maritime sector is evolving at a rapid pace, navigating challenges such as decarbonisation, digitalisation, fleet renewal, financing, geopolitical…

The shipping industry looks for green fuelsTransporting goods by sea contributes significantly to global carbon emissions. Switching from traditional petroleum-based marine fuels to low-carbon alternatives could drastically shrink shipping’s climate impact

www.bunkerspot.com/images/mags/flipbook/bs_v21n1_FebMar24/mobile/index.html#p=1

Lloyd’s Register Maritime Decarbonisation Hub (LR MDH) analyst, Charlie McKinlay, co-authored an article, "Under the radar", with Dana G. Rodriguez, Senior Analyst at the Environmental Defense Fund's Global Shipping Team, for Bunkerspot’s February/March 2024 issue, which highlighted the Sustainable First Movers Initiative (SMFI) identification tool developed by LR MDH and EDF, in collaboration with Arup, to help shipping stakeholders align investment decisions that support the maritime away from fossil fuels

ONBOARD CRYOGENIC STORAGE OF NEW FUELS MAY BE FEASIBLEResearchers at the University of Southampton have evaluated the potential for cryogenic storage of hydrogen and ammonia as bunker fuel and are now looking to composite tanks as the way forward

PhD Thesis

Experience

Education

2023 to Present - Fuels and Technologies Lead - Lloyd’s Register Maritime Decarbonisation Hub

Removing obstacles to shipping’s zero emissions transition.

2021 to 2022 - Technical Consultant - Mayfair Marine

Working on a wide range of projects centred around developing zero emission shipping.

2021 to 2022 - Senior Research Assistant - University of Southampton

Took a break from my PhD to work on three Clean Maritime Demonstrating Competition (CMDC) projects all related to the use of fuel cells for shipping.

2021 to 2021 - Alternative Fuels Consultant - Arcsilea Ltd

Working as part of the HySeas III project (https://www.hyseas3.eu/)

2019 to 2021– Mathematics Demonstrator – University of Southampton

Skills gained: Teaching experience (undergraduate engineering students)

2017 – Student placement - SSE Greater Gabbard Offshore Wind Ltd

Skills gained: engineering industry experience; improved data analysis and professional report writing; technical knowledge of mechanical and electrical engineering; self-managing a project.

2015 – Enterprise Data Analyst Intern - Career Central, University of East Anglia

Skills gained: data analysis and business knowledge; organisation of events and workshops; day-to-day administration tasks.

2008-18 – Various hospitality roles

Including 1 year in Australia and 4 seasons in France.

2019-23 - PhD

University of Southampton

Title: Using Dynamic Energy System Modelling to Assess Viable Zero-Emission Shipping Solutions

Key achievements:

Thorough review of alternative fuels (inc. hydrogen, ammonia and methanol)
Analysis of data from a fleet of LNG carriers to build a picture of shipping demand
Development of a series of mathematical models in the programming language Python
Models included different types of fuel cells, batteries, and combustion engines
Used models to run dynamic simulations in Python to determine factors such as fuel consumption and emissions at each moment in time against power profiles
Specific energy system setups have been tested, optimised, and compared in a level of detail that has not been previously achieved
Additionally, transition technologies and pathways have been researched, such as LNG fuel cells, energy saving technologies, and smart energy management

2018-19 - Energy Storage and its Applications Training Year (MSc equivalent)

University of Southampton

Dissertation: A comparison of hydrogen and ammonia for future long distance shipping fuels

2016-17 – MSc Energy Engineering with Environmental Management

University of East Anglia - Full scholarship award

Modules included: Year-long team energy project; Energy engineering fundamentals; Wind energy engineering; Oil and gas engineering; Electrical energy generation, distribution and storage; Energy engineering dissertation.

2010-2014 – BSc Mathematics

University of East Anglia

Modules included: Dynamical meteorology; Fluid dynamics; Probability; Advanced mathematical techniques; Differential equations; Analysis and algebra; Intro to business.

2003-10 – 4 A-levels + 12 GCSEs

King’s School Grantham – A-levels: Maths; Further Maths; Business Studies; Computer Science.

Contact

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