Infineum shares findings of combustion improver fuel additive sea trials

International fuel additives company Infineum recently published an article on its Insight website on data from its combustion improver sea trials that demonstrate emissions and efficiency improvements along with a number of additional benefits these additives can deliver:

Ship operators are using fuel additives as a cost-effective way to help reduce fuel consumption as they work to cut running costs and emissions. But, their value goes way beyond these well-recognised attributes. In this article, Adrian Bourdeaux, Marine Fuels Technology Manager, shares the findings of recent evaluations at sea, carried out in a range of vessel types. These data not only confirm the emissions and efficiency improvement fuel additives can deliver to marine applications but also show how they can keep hardware clean and improve scrubber performance.

The maritime industry is working towards a net zero emissions future by 2050, where alternative fuels such as methanol, ammonia and hydrogen will be more widely used. However, in the transition period, conventional hydrocarbon fuels will continue to be the dominant marine fuel. To remain compliant with International Maritime Organization (IMO) regulations and to meet IMO net zero aspirations, while also cutting costs, ship operators and owners need to reduce emissions and improve efficiency today. These were some of the key drivers that prompted Infineum to develop novel combustion improver fuel additive technology.

Initially, our technologists put a significant amount of effort into static engine, no-harms, and field proof of concept testing – you can read more about the results here. This article goes on to describe how the results of this highly controlled development program have been replicated across multiple vessel and engine types and sizes in the last 18 months. In addition, it shows how this extensive testing has uncovered a number of other benefits combustion improver additives can deliver.

In our first trial, despite the adverse weather conditions encountered throughout the additised portion of the trial, we achieved a 1% specific fuel oil consumption (SFOC) saving and reduced emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx), and sulphur oxides (SOx) by 4% and 12% respectively.

Our technology has received the first ever Lloyd’s Register Fuel Additive Statement of Fact for improved SFOC, reduced NOx, and carbon monoxide (CO) emissions.

To some readers a 1% fuel efficiency gain might not sound like a huge improvement. But, as an example, it would mean a single vessel consuming 100 MT of fuel per day could gain a net annual saving of some $3 to 4 million*.

Encouraged by this strong performance, we have completed a series of successful field evaluations across a wide range of vessel types, including cruise liners, container ships, and bulk carriers. Building on this foundation, the technology is now being adopted more broadly, with several ongoing commercial deployments and new collaborations underway. Many of these initiatives are being driven by the additional operational and environmental benefits that are now consistently being demonstrated in real-world applications.

Infineum works hard to ensure that each field evaluation is as operationally controlled as possible, maintaining consistent speed, load, and other key parameters between baseline and additised phases. While each field evaluation differs in terms of vessel type, engine configuration, fuel quality, and operating environment, this variability has proven valuable. It demonstrates that, across a wide range of real-world conditions, we consistently observe improvements in SFOC.

In all our various sea trials the improved combustion has helped to reduce specific fuel oil consumption by between 1 and 3%.

Both our technical teams and our sea trial partners have been really pleased with the results we have obtained. Why? Because not only have our additives provided the expected fuel efficiency improvements but also they have delivered a number of other valuable benefits.

Note: The full article by Infineum can be read here. 

Photo credit: Venti Views on Unsplash
Published: 1 August, 2025