Vehicle manufacturers join UECC bioLNG bunker fuel programme

United European Car Carriers (UECC) on Monday (9 September) said Toyota Motor Europe, Ford of Europe and another unnamed major European vehicle manufacturer have signed up for UECC’s Sail for Change sustainability programme. 

The vehicle manufacturers are set to achieve major reductions in emissions from their logistics chain by using UECC vessels fuelled by bioLNG for cargo transport across Europe.

The combined yearly emissions reduction for UECC from the manufacturer trio is estimated at around 80,000 tonnes, or over one-third of its global Scope 1 emissions from ship operations of approximately 220,000 tonnes.

“We are thrilled that three of our major clients have decided to participate in Sail for Change, which demonstrates the power of industry collaboration in advancing decarbonisation. Those willing to invest in sustainable transport now will ultimately reap the rewards as new regulations give a commercial impetus for green operations,” said UECC CEO Glenn Edvardsen.

As well as boosting their environmental performance with lower Scope 3 emissions, all three vehicle manufacturers will be able to significantly reduce their costs exposure to the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS), while boosting uptake of alternative low-carbon fuels in line with FuelEU Maritime set to take effect next year, according to UECC’s Energy & Sustainability Manager Daniel Gent.

Under Sail for Change, UECC has facilitated bunkering of ISCC-EU certified bioLNG – or liquefied biomethane – on its five LNG dual-fuel and multi-fuel Pure Car and Truck Carriers (PCTCs) at the Port of Zeebrugge through an earlier agreement with Titan Clean Fuels.

This enables the leading European shortsea RoRo carrier to perform carbon-neutral cargo loading operations across its port network, with customers able to access verified data on emissions reductions with clean fuel use through a CO2 registry covering the entire supply chain.

“UECC has made proactive strides in advancing industry adoption of alternative fuels over the past decade, having also piloted the use of biofuels, and bunkering of bioLNG marks another big step forward, both in reducing the carbon footprint of our clients and increasing demand for low-carbon fuels,” Gent said. 

“Our aim with Sail for Change has been to provide a standalone product that enables our customers to facilitate a sustainable fuel switch in our fleet that has a direct and immediate impact on their emissions.”

And he said industry interest has exceeded UECC’s expectations, resulting in the Green Gas Month initiative being extended beyond July to subsequent months and years. The company is now looking to scale up the programme to allow more companies to participate in future years based on growing demand, according to Gent.

“Our customers have ambitious decarbonisation targets and see that using alternative fuels can cut a significant swath of emissions from maritime transport. There is now also a regulatory payback from using a decarbonisation service. Given it will be more economical to use sustainable fuels at some point in the future, customers are keen to secure supplies now,” he explained. 

Photo credit: United European Car Carriers
Published: 10 September, 2024