Alternative Fuels

Singapore reiterates commitments towards developing LNG and bio bunker fuels

Two Singapore ministers recently spoke about the bunkering industry in the republic at two conferences and reiterated Singapore’s support towards LNG and biofuels.

Published

1 year ago

September 7, 2023

Admin

Two Singapore ministers recently spoke about the bunkering industry in the republic at two separate conferences and reiterated Singapore’s support towards the development of LNG and bio bunker fuels.

Manpower Minister and Second Minister for Trade and Industry Dr Tan See Leng said Singapore has developed a strong energy and LNG ecosystem over the years.

“We have established ourselves as a leading LNG trading and bunkering hub in Asia. We have 60 LNG traders operating in Singapore, including the world’s top 10 global energy traders,” Tan said in his speech at the opening ceremony of the Gastech 2023 Conference on Tuesday (5 September).

“In 2022 alone, about USD 240 billion worth of LNG trades flowed through Singapore, equivalent in value to about 50% of Singapore’s GDP.”

He added Singapore has also built up its infrastructure with Singapore’s LNG terminal can handle up to 9.6 million tonnes per annum of throughput capacity.

“Our upcoming LNG bunkering network will support the growth of LNG as a marine fuel,” he said.

Tan explained that companies in Singapore have also innovated to deploy new solutions and create new business models that support the entire LNG ecosystem.

“For example, in January this year, Seatrium delivered the first of a series of LNG hybrid tugs for use in Singapore’s waters,” the minister said.

“The vessel is the first of its kind for operations in Singapore using a pure LNG engine and is supported by an innovative battery power system that allows for emission-free operations during idling and low-speed transit. “

“Seatrium has commissioned the design and the building of the world’s first LNG hybrid tug in 2018 and continues to build its capabilities to ride the global energy transition.”

He concluded that Singapore’s investment in the energy and LNG ecosystem has seen promising results.

“We are committed to invest further and grow further so that Singapore can better serve the region's energy needs.”

low yen ling

Meanwhile, Minister of State for Trade and Industry Low Yen Ling said Singapore is well-positioned to support and grow new trade flows for renewable fuels such as biofuels.

She said one of Singapore’s key goals and focus is to grow new trade flows for renewable fuels.

“The global energy transition and our 2050 net-zero ambition will continue to spur greater demand for greener fuels. Singapore is well poised to facilitate and grow these new flows,” she said in her speech at the Asia Pacific Petroleum Conference (APPEC) 2023 on 4 September.

“For example, in the area of biofuels, Singapore is located near regional feedstock resources and home to a growing network of counterparties. Over 60 companies, including energy majors such as ExxonMobil and Respol, and ADM and Bunge in the agri-commodities sector, are taking hold of this advantage by trading biofuels from Singapore.”

“Singapore’s efficient refining and processing capabilities, as well as robust maritime infrastructure, allows us to import biofuels for refining and re-export. This synergy presents an opportunity for Singapore to develop strengths in both biofuels processing and trading, and solidify our position as an energy hub.”

Low added Singapore has made good progress in adopting renewable fuels in the aviation and shipping industries.

“In the shipping industry, the Maritime Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) has been taking active steps to facilitate the use of cleaner fuels such as LNG, biofuels, ammonia, hydrogen and methanol to drive decarbonisation efforts. To date, over 140,000 tonnes of biofuels blends have been supplied across more than 90 biofuels bunkering operations,” she added.

To facilitate the transition to cleaner fuels, Low said the republic is also exploring further opportunities in biofuels, and working on harmonising standards to reduce barriers to the trade of biofuels.

“In consultation with industry and researchers, the MPA has also developed a provisional biofuel standard on the specification of marine biofuel for blends up to 50%. As there is presently no international standard for the quality of biofuels for bunkering, this provisional national standard aims to support the growth of biofuel bunkering and facilitate the adoption of greener fuels to meet our net-zero goals.”

Photo credit: Dr Tan See Leng / Low Yen Ling
Published: 7 September, 2023

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Singapore: GCMD introduces new technique for FAME bio bunker fuel fingerprinting

Fingerprinting identifies feedstock origins of FAME-based biofuels used in shipping industry; can be used as a potential tool to detect fraud in marine fuel supply chains and ensure biofuel authenticity.

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Singapore: GCMD introduces new technique for FAME bio bunker fuel fingerprinting

The Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD) on Monday (2 December) released its latest report, presenting a new technique that creates a fingerprint for Fatty Acid Methyl Esters(FAME) bio bunker fuels.

This fingerprint identifies the feedstock origins of the FAME-based biofuels used in the shipping industry.

GCMD said FAME fingerprinting is needed as the shipping sector is increasingly using biofuels, such as FAME, to reduce its GHG emissions. With that, concerns have arisen regarding the legitimacy of biofuels and whether they are truly sustainable.

Industry bodies are seeing a rising number of cases mislabelling biofuels purported to be made from recycled oils and fats, while suspicions persist that they might be produced from cheaper and less sustainable virgin oils.

“To address these concerns, FAME fingerprinting can be used as a potential tool to detect fraud in marine fuel supply chains and ensure biofuel authenticity. By providing a physical validation method that complements existing certification schemes, FAME fingerprinting can help justify the green premium with genuine environmental benefits and safeguard the integrity of marine fuels supply chain,” GCMD said.

FAME fingerprinting is based on the principle that the fatty acid profile of FAME is unique to its feedstock and can be preserved during feedstock transesterification to produce FAME. The "fingerprint" can then be compared against a database of known fatty acid profiles to identify the feedstock origin.

GCMD worked with VPS who modified existing fuel testing methods to carry out sample analyses using a gas chromatograph with flame-ionisation detection, an instrument commonly found in fuel test laboratories.

The analysis takes about an hour, comparable to the turnaround time for current marine fuel quality testing in the supply chain.

“We have tested this method on a variety of FAME samples from different suppliers, including virgin oils, used cooking oils, palm oil mill effluent, beef tallow and food waste and were able to identify the feedstock origins for each sample,” GCMD added.

Manifold Times previously reported Captain Rahul Choudhuri, President, Strategic Partnerships at marine fuels testing company VPS, forecasting the use of finger printing technology today will likely establish a blueprint of how future alternative bunker fuels’ feedstocks are authenticated.

Captain Choudhuri said this when he gave an update of VPS’ biofuels finger printing trials with GCMD.

Note: The full report, titled ‘Rapid forensic analysis of FAME-based biofuels: Potential use of its fingerprint as a fraud detection tool’, can be downloaded here.

Photo credit: Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation
Published: 2 December, 2024

Methanol

PLAGEN to produce and supply green methanol bunker fuel with Latvia plant

Korean firm’s MoU with AE Risinājumi will see construction of Latvia’s first commercial-scale green methanol production plant, which will supply green methanol to ships in EU’s maritime fleet.

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PLAGEN to produce and supply green methanol bunker fuel with Latvia plant

South Korean clean energy firm PLAGEN on Friday (29 November) signed an MOU with Latvian company, AE Risinājumi, for the production of green methanol in Latvia at the “2024 Latvia-Korea Business Forum” hosted by the President of Latvia.

The agreement will result in the construction of Latvia's first commercial-scale green methanol production plant, which will supply green methanol to ships in the EU's maritime fleet, contributing to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from maritime transportation.

PLAGEN's MoU aims to produce 20,000 metric tonnes (mt) of green methanol per year and will begin feasibility studies in the first half of 2025, and full-scale production will begin in 2028.

With 53% of Latvia's land area covered by forests, timber production and wood processing make a significant contribution to Latvia’s economic production, which generates a large amount of forest residues and wood wastes. In addition, Latvia also has an abundance and low price of renewable electricity from wind power.

Latvia is one of the most competitive countries in the European Union, as it can produce clean methanol at a competitive price by using abundant wood waste as a raw material and renewable electricity from cheap wind power.

The use of abundant forest residues and wood wastes as a feedstock and cheap renewable electricity from wind power makes it possible to produce green methanol with a competitive price, making Latvia is one of the most competitive countries in the EU.

In the European Union, the European Emissions Trading Scheme (EU-ETS) will come into effect in 2025, requiring shipping companies to purchase carbon credits for their greenhouse gas emissions.

In addition, the EU is implementing FuelEU Maritime, which aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2% below the 2020 average by 2025 and 80% by 2050. This is expected to result in an energy transition to green methanol.

In July 2023, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) adopted a revised strategy that calls for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from ships to net-zero by or around 2050, and plans to introduce full-scale regulations from 2027, and shipping companies have begun ordering methanol-powered ships fueled by green methanol, a carbon-neutral fuel.

“We expect to start producing green methanol in Latvia in 2028, which will reduce greenhouse gas emissions from EU maritime transport vessels and contribute significantly to the revitalization of the Latvian economy and national energy security,” said John Kyung, CEO of PLAGEN.

In November 2024, PLAGEN completed the purchase of an industrial complex and received a government permit for the construction of the country's first green methanol plant in Dongjeom Industrial Complex in Taebaek City, Gangwon-do.

The project, which will produce 10,000 mt per year, is scheduled to begin construction in the first half of 2025 and begin production in the second half of 2027.

Photo credit: PLAGEN
Published: 2 December, 2024

LNG Bunkering

Molgas commences LNG bunkering operations in United Kingdom

Firm successfully completed the first LNG bunkering of “MV Glen Sannox” since the ship was handed over to CalMac Ferries Limited last week.

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December 2, 2024

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Molgas commences LNG bunkering operations in United Kingdom

Molgas Group on Friday (29 November) said it successfully completed the first LNG bunkering of the MV Glen Sannox since the ship was handed over to CalMac Ferries Limited last week, marking its entry into the United Kingdom.

“We would like to thank CalMac Ferries Limited and Ferguson Marine (Port Glasgow) Limited for their trust and long-term collaboration,” the firm said in a social media post.

“This project not only represents a significant step forward in the adoption of cleaner fuels in the maritime industry of the United Kingdom but also for the expansion of our Pan-European Supply Network for the Marine Segment to receive (bio)LNG via various supply assets across multiple countries and ports.”

Photo credit: Molgas Group
Published: 2 December, 2024