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

Once a week, bunker intelligence platform ENGINE will publish a snapshot of biofuel bunker prices in the world’s two biggest bunkering hubs. The following is the latest snapshot:

9 September 2024 

• Bio-premiums widen in Rotterdam
• Dutch rebates for biofuel remain steady

Singapore

Singapore’s B24-VLSFO UCOME price has dropped by $24/mt in the past week, while its B24-LSMGO UCOME price has seen a steeper decline of $41/mt. Both bio-benchmarks have declined amid a drop in values of pure VLSFO and LSMGO. The sharper $52/mt fall in the underlying ENGINE conventional LSMGO price has contributed to the more pronounced decline in the B24-LSMGO UCOME price.

The PRIMA Markets-assessed UCOME FOB China benchmark fell by $5/mt on the week to $955/mt. It says pricing activity for Chinese UCOME FOB in bulk was mostly muted last week. "With the open market being quiet for pricing activity, there were muted indications through [last] Thursday," PRIMA says.

It adds that inflows of Chinese UCOME into EU countries are expected to decline over the rest of the year because of EU-anti dumping duties. As a result, Chinese biodiesel producers may be compelled to export UCOME to alternative markets, such as Singapore for bunkering, potentially at a discount. This shift could make biofuel bunkering more affordable in Singapore.

Singapore’s B24-VLSFO UCOME premium over pure VLSFO has widened by $6/mt in the past week to $112/mt, while its B24-LSMGO UCOME premium over pure LSMGO has widened by $11/mt to $105/mt.

Rotterdam

Rotterdam’s B30-VLSFO HBE price has come down by $19/mt over the past week and its B30-LSMGO HBE price has dropped by $30/mt. Decreases in the values of pure VLSFO ($23/mt) and pure LSMGO ($38/mt) have contributed to the decline in both biofuel benchmarks.

Additionally, the POMEME CIF ARA price has decreased by $9/mt over the past week to $1,336/mt, according to PRIMA Markets, exerting further downward pressure on both benchmarks.

The Dutch HBE A ticket price has held steady in the past week. PRIMA assessed the ticket price at €8.60/GJ ($9.50/GJ) on Friday, a marginal increase of €0.05/GJ($0.06/GJ) on the week. The ticket price is crucial as it determines how much Dutch bunker suppliers can reclaim from authorities when selling advanced biofuels to ships. It theoretically translates to about $85/mt a supplier can reclaim for B30-VLSFO HBE sold in Dutch ports.

Biofuel price premiums over pure conventional fuels in Rotterdam are $185/mt for B30-VLSFO HBE blends and $156/mt for B30-LSMGO HBE blends. These premiums have widened by $4-8/mt on the week and are much wider compared to Singapore.

The ARA VLSFO UCOME price has declined in tandem with B30-VLSFO HBE Rotterdam in the past week. UCOME-based biofuel blends are priced higher as they don’t qualify for Dutch advanced biofuel rebates.

By Nithin Chandran

Photo credit and source: ENGINE
Published: 10 September, 2024

Biofuels may have an important role to play in shipping’s decarbonisation, but feedstock availability and demand competition from other transport sectors pose challenges that will need to be addressed for widespread adoption, according to Lloyd’s Register’s (LR) new Fuel for Thought: Biofuel report.

The report pointed to biofuels as a path to compliance with environmental regulations for ships for which retrofits to adopt other future fuels are not economically feasible. As ‘drop-in’ replacements for traditional fuels, biofuels require minimal changes to machinery and operations and offer GHG emissions savings of up to 84% compared to traditional fuels. 

The similarities between biofuels and their fossil equivalents, as well as the ability to blend biofuels with traditional fuels, makes adopting biofuels a comparatively straightforward process for shipowners compared to other alternative fuels. Biofuels are generally compatible with existing onboard machinery and fuel tanks, use the same bunkering infrastructure as fossil equivalents, and their similarity to traditional bunkers means training requirements for crew are minimal compared to other future fuels.

The most established products suitable for shipping are Fatty Acid Methyl Ester (FAME) and Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO), and novel fuels continue to be developed. Ship operators need to be alert to the individual characteristics of any given biofuel.

There are many types of biofuels produced through different processes using a wide range of feedstocks, variables that affect the GHG intensity of a fuel and that can raise operational considerations for machinery. Fuel for Thought: Biofuel details industry standards for FAME and HVO, common considerations for engines and machinery and when using biofuels, and a process for undertaking trials of novel and untested biofuels in marine engines.

The report stated that the main challenges for widespread deployment are availability and demand competition from other transport sectors, including aviation, and the investment in biofuel production capacity that will be needed to meet the growing demand from the transport sector. The price of biodiesel blends is expected to rise alongside blending levels as feedstock prices are driven higher by demand.

Tim Wilson, Principal Specialist Fuels Lubes and Emissions, Lloyd’s Register, said: “Biofuels are unique among the future fuels for shipping as the vast majority of the world fleet is equipped with engines that can use them. As a drop-in replacement for fossil fuels, biofuels are an available and affordable method of reducing carbon emissions in the short term without large capital investment. The range of biofuel trials across ship segments and biofuel types reflect a strong level of interest from shipowners in their use onboard.”

Fuel for Thought: Biofuel gathers into one place the most relevant information on the use of biofuels in shipping, serving as a convenient reference for shipowners considering alternative fuel options for their fleets, and for maritime professionals seeking a deeper understanding of the zero-carbon transition. The report combines expertise from LR and other shipping knowledge leaders on topics including the characteristics and operational considerations for biofuels, regulatory drivers for biofuel adoption, techno-economic considerations, fuel quality and availability, and biofuel trials in shipping.

The report builds on the success of earlier Fuel for Thought reports, where LR is creating a one-stop repository for relevant information on all alternative fuels for the maritime industry. The report also contains information from LR’s recently updated Zero Carbon Fuel Monitor, an insight-based assessment of the readiness of biofuels and other zero carbon fuels for maritime applications.

Note: Lloyd’s Register’s (LR) new Fuel for Thought: Biofuel report can be found here.

Photo credit: william william on Unsplash
Published: 9 September, 2024