The most comprehensive test of biofuel
Global Center for Maritime Decarbonization (GCMD) completed the most comprehensive test of biofuel in the maritime industry last week. They blended 2 supply chains of biofuel operating between Singapore and Rotterdam. Furthermore, the project involves containerships, tankers, bulkers, and some companies which support sustainable biofuel.
The project first announced in July 2022 aimed to accelerate biofuel adoption in the shipping industry. It consists of 19 industry partners and 13 vessels. And GCMD purposed to test 5 supply chains and provide an emission abatement framework to assure biofuel synthetic in the future.
A sustainable biofuel for maritime
They provided approximately 4,700 MT of sustainable biofuel blends from 31st October 2022 to February 2023. And the last test fuels will be consume by the end of the month. The two sustainable biofuels, Cooking Oil Methyl Ester (UCOME) a type of Fatty Acid Methyl Ester (FAME), blended with Very Low Sulphur Fuel Oil (VLSFO). And the other one is UCOME blended with High Sulphur Fuel Oil (HSFO). The UCOME is 100 from ISCC-certified waste materials.
“Through these trials, we have gained a better appreciation of the complexities of real-world operations,”. Said Dr. Prapisala Thepsithar, director of projects at GCMD and project lead on this drop-in fuel assurance pilot. “We have learned the hard lesson that not all tracing techniques are directly applicable for tracing sustainable biofuels as they stand, and we are currently undertaking efforts to refine their deployment.”
GCMD worked on bringing together the marine fuel purchases, and suppliers. They also handled dynamics such as equipment, vessel scheduling, and asset availabilities for the project.
“The lack of assurance on the quality, quantity, and emissions abatement of biofuels is a pain point we identified from interviewing more than 100 industry stakeholders”. Explained Dr. Sanjay Kuttan, CTO of the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation.
Additionally, the most comprehensive test of biofuel in the maritime industry will conclude in 12 to 18 months.