Towards Sustainable Maritime Transportation in the Galapagos Islands with green hydrogen

In this study, the feasibility of transitioning from diesel to green hydrogen to power the maritime transport sector in the Galapagos Islands is analyzed. The plan is to study the environmental factors that may arise on the islands with the introduction of this new technology and its interaction with other sectors. This will enable the development of a plan that facilitates the transition and adapts to the environmental needs of the ecosystems. Four comparison scenarios were devised, where the first includes 100% hydrogen with 50% solar energy and 50% wind energy, the third 100% hydrogen with 100% solar, and the fourth 100% hydrogen with 100% wind. At the end of the study, it was found that the scenario generating the highest emissions is the one with 100% wind generation, and the one with the lowest emissions is the solar scenario. Additionally, it was discovered that the construction, equipment manufacturing, and land transport sectors experienced an increase in emissions. However, these increases do not surpass the 20k-ton reduction in CO2 emissions in the maritime transport sector. At the study's conclusion, it was understood that the collection of information and data should be expanded to extend the model and encompass a greater number of environmental and social analyses, yielding more precise results.