BioFuel & Clean Diesel - Issue #1

A word from the editor…

In our latest in The Motorship’s series of special reports we focus our attention on biofuels, which were the target of a protest to the IMO earlier this year by various NGOs. Groups such as Global Forest Coalition and Biofuelwatch called on the regulator to ban biofuels from its Global Fuel Standard, warning that they exacerbate deforestation, land displacement and climate change.

As you will read in this report, some of the NGOs concerns are shared by key maritime stakeholders. At a panel discussing biofuels at London International Shipping Week, we learn that figures from industry as well as classification societies such as Lloyd’s Register are also calling for more regulatory clarification. There are also operational and practical concerns over biofuels use including how to handle them safely to where fleets can bunker the fuels.

We also hear about a successful trial of a B24 FAME blend by the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD) and Japanese shipping company NYK held over six months on a PCTC vessel. GCMD has also demonstrated the viability of biofuel tracer technologies which can be used to identify the authenticity and also quantify biofuel volumes.

Related to the fuel featured in our previous special report, methanol, read how the Global Ethanol Association (GEA) has been launched to promote the commercial viability of ethanol use in a marine context.  The fuel is compatible with existing duel-fuel methanol engines but comes at a lower cost and higher energy content.

While biofuels may not be the panacea for maritime’s decarbonisation goals, it can certainly act as a decent bridging fuel until other options become available in suitable quantities to satisfy global fleets’ needs.

- David Stevenson, Editor, The Motorship
dstevenson@mercatormedia.com