Consortium to develop sustainable biofuels for marine transport

Boskalis, a dredging and marine expert, and Wärtsilä, a global complete lifecycle power solutions provider for the marine and oil and gas markets, have begun collaboration with GoodFuels Marine, the first marine biofuel company focused on the global commercial fleet.

The consortium will pioneer the development of sustainable drop-in marine biofuels for the shipping industry. 

Netherlands-based GoodFuels Marine and its partners will spearhead a two-year pilot programme to accelerate the development of sustainable, scalable, and affordable marine biofuels, which today are not part of the marine fuel mix that operators and owners can choose from.

This means that shipping is missing an opportunity to utilise what should be a price competitive, environmentally friendly fuel option.

The programme’s focus will be on delivering and analysing a sustainable feedstock, securing industry certification, and preparing the building blocks for large-scale production.

Additionally, the consortium will initiate a global scalability study involving leading ship owners, universities, NGOs, ports, biofuel companies, and other industry stakeholders.

The aim of the study is to identify tangible opportunities for scaling supply to the world’s commercial shipping fleet.

Theo Baartmans, COO of Boskalis, believes in the need for sustainable drop-in marine biofuels and their potential as part of the long term fuel mix.

‘We see them as an important means of improving the sustainability of the industry. Participating in this pilot and making our vessels available is in line with Boskalis’ approach to seeking innovations that work hand in hand with sustainability,’ Baartmans says.

Dirk Kronemeijer, CEO, GoodFuels Marine, adds: ‘We believe that the international shipping market is now ready and well-placed to embrace truly sustainable, long term alternative fuels that can meet all stringent technical, economical, and sustainability standards, similar to the sustainable jet fuel market five years ago.’

The consortium will test several next generation biofuels at the Wärtsilä laboratory in Vaasa, Finland, before sea trials are carried out on various vessels within Boskalis’ global fleet.

With the objective of developing a fuel mix that is fully sustainable, the programme seeks to promote a lower carbon footprint for the maritime sector.

The consortium believes that these biofuels will play a viable role in reducing emissions that no other fuel can currently achieve, without a capital-intensive fleet renewal or retrofitting.

In a joint statement, the CEOs of the ports of Rotterdam and Amsterdam, Allard Castelein and Dertje Meijer, say they embrace the vision of next generation biofuels supporting a more sustainable future for global marine transport.

‘In addition we see marine biofuels as a potential building block to boost the bio-based production and economy in our respective ports,’ they say.