Alternative Fuels

TotalEnergies becomes eighth partner to The Castor Initiative for zero emission shipping

Firm will join MISC, LR, SHI, MAN ES, MPA, Yara and Jurong Port in the global coalition to support ecosystem required for ammonia-fuelled tankers to operate sustainably and safely.

Published

2 years ago

December 5, 2022

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The Castor Initiative has announced that global energy major TotalEnergies has become the eighth partner to the global coalition that is committed to make zero emission shipping a reality, according to Lloyd’s Register (LR) on Friday (2 December).

The global coalition, which includes MISC Berhad (MISC), LR, Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI), MAN Energy Solutions (MAN ES), the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), Yara Clean Ammonia (Yara) and Jurong Port, was established in January 2020 and its most recent project milestone was the April 2022 memorandum of understanding for a pair of zero emission deep sea tankers vessels.

With TotalEnergies as the Castor Initiative’s latest partner, the multinational coalition has added to its circle of maritime expertise to ensure and support the complete ecosystem required for ammonia-fuelled tankers to operate sustainably and safely.

As an energy major on a global scale, and its commitment to sustainability, TotalEnergies brings its extensive operational experience to this global alliance to support the maritime industry’s drive to decarbonisation. The experience and expertise of each Castor Initiative partner will be central to the success of the initiative, from conception to project realisation.

Jérôme Cousin, Senior Vice President Shipping, TotalEnergies said: “Among various decarbonized marine fuel alternatives, Ammonia could rapidly become a viable solution in the maritime sector while challenges remain to be addressed, in particular on the safety aspects. We are therefore enthusiastic to join the Castor initiative, one of the most comprehensive and ambitious project dealing with ammonia as a fuel today. As a multi-energy company committed to the energy transition, TotalEnergies will strive to bring its charterer perspective in this consortium of highly reputable industry players.”

MISC President and Group CEO, Captain Rajalingam Subramaniam said: “Thank you TotalEnergies for this great leadership and collaboration towards achieving a common industry goal in shaping another decarbonisation pathway for the maritime industry, in a safe and efficient manner. I would also like to thank all the partners of The Castor Initiative for their steadfast commitment towards this global coalition. We have much to do to realise this mission, but today, we reached another milestone in our journey with TotalEnergies joining this global coalition, which is a huge recognition of the whole-of-society approach principle, on which we anchor our purpose of bringing zero emissions in shipping closer to reality.”

LR Chief Executive Officer Nick Brown, said: “Efforts to decarbonise the maritime sector are forging ahead and collaboration among the Castor Initiative partners on ammonia-fuelled tonnage continues apace. We are delighted that TotalEnergies has joined our development project as its considerable industry experience and expertise will help to accelerate the partnerships’ goal of delivering safe zero-emission shipping in the middle of this decade.”

Brian Østergaard Sørensen, Vice President, Head of Research and Development, Two-Stroke, MAN Energy Solutions, said: “MAN Energy Solutions welcomes TotalEnergies to the Castor Initiative. This coming together of such a broad variety of industry partners – each with their own expertise – can only be of great, mutual benefit as we advance the case for green ammonia as a sustainable fuel for maritime shipping on this path to decarbonisation.”

SHI President and CEO Mr JinTaek Jung said: We are very delighted to have TotalEnergies join the Castor Initiative. We believe that TotalEnergies's diverse expertise in the energy and maritime shipping sector will be another enabling factor to the successful development of the ammonia-fuelled deep-sea tanker. We look forward to working with our new partner in this inspiring collective collaboration.

Murali Srinivasan, SVP and Commercial Head of Yara Clean Ammonia said: “The clock is ticking for the decarbonisation of the maritime sector. Within the Castor Initiative all partners in the value chain have made a significant commitment towards decarbonisation and have been collaborating actively to achieve that goal. We are excited to welcome TotalEnergies to the initiative and look forward to jointly advancing ammonia as a credible and safe zero-carbon maritime fuel. TotalEnergies entering the existing partnership will create an acceleration of the consortium’s efforts toward the common goal of delivering zero-emission deep sea tankers in the near future.”

Kenneth Lim, Assistant Chief Executive (Industry & Transformation), MPA, said: “MPA welcomes TotalEnergies’ participation to the Castor Initiative. The decarbonisation of the fleet and development of green ammonia supply chain and other hydrogen carriers to meet IMO targets will require the commitment of diverse stakeholders across the entire value chain. As the world’s top bunkering hub, Singapore will work closely with the industry to bring in green marine fuel supply chain, through consortiums such as the Castor Initiative and the green and digital shipping corridors, to enable the energy transition.”

Jurong Port Chief Executive Officer, Terence Seow, said: “Jurong Port looks forward to TotalEnergies’ participation and contribution to complete the supply chain solution needed for ammonia-fuelled tankers to operate safely and sustainably. The consortium will be able to leverage on TotalEnergies’ technical capabilities & operational experience. To support the adoption of zero emission vessels, Jurong Port will work closely with the partners of The Castor Initiative to develop a robust and sustainable ammonia bunkering supply chain in Singapore.”

To meet the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) 2050 ambitions on halving greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from 2008 levels, zero-carbon vessels need to enter the world fleet by 2030. This Joint Development Project has been motivated by the partners’ shared belief that the maritime industry needs leadership and greater collaboration if shipping is to meet the IMO’s GHG ambitions.

While ammonia is one of the fuels being considered by maritime stakeholders, the partners also recognise that the shipping industry will need to explore multiple decarbonisation pathways and hope their collaboration will spur others in the maritime industry to work collectively on addressing this global challenge.

Photo credit: Chris Pagan on Unsplash
Published: 5 December, 2022

Biofuel

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.

Published

11 hours ago

December 2, 2024

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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.

Published

11 hours ago

December 2, 2024

Admin

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.

Published

11 hours ago

December 2, 2024

Admin

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