FASTWATER develops and demonstrates an evolutionary pathway for methanol technology in waterborne transport by pursuing the following objectives:

• Demonstrate the overall feasibility under operational conditions, when our demo-cases test methanol in service
• Develop and demonstrate universal, scalable retrofit kits for converting ships to methanol use for a wide power range (200 kW – 4 MW)
• Develop the next generation of methanol-fuelled engines for further advances in efficiency, and further reductions in emissions and costs
• Demonstrate the complete supply chain from renewable methanol producers to ship bunkering, including setting up bunkering procedures for safe and efficient bunkering
• Work with regulatory agencies to develop rules & regulation for methanol as a fuel
• Develop a training programme for crews, gain experience with the FASTWATER Demo-cases and formulate best practices for use beyond FASTWATER
• Life cycle performance assessment to analyse investment costs, CO₂ savings and pollutant reductions

Suitable energy carriers and powertrains for waterborne transport must be:

Sustainable: ensure a closed cycle for the energy carrier and powertrain raw materials
Scalable: use abundantly available and (therefore) affordable resources
Storable: sufficiently compact, i.e. high energy and power density