GoodFuels Marine claims it is the world's first bunker supplier to offer ultra-low carbon and sulphur drop-in
bio-fuel oil (BFO) following the
completion of trials aboard the Nord Highlander.
The heavy fuel oil (HFO)-equivalent marine biofuel that has been developed is said to deliver near-zero carbon and sulphur oxide (SOx) emissions and is the result of three years of research and development in collaboration with partners including Royal Dutch Boskalis and engine manufacturer Wartsila.
The trials aboard the Norden vessel saw hundreds of tonnes of drop-in BFO supplied in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) region.
With the tests completed, it means that GoodFuels is now in a position to offer BFO to customers in addition to the
bio-marine gas oil (bio-MGO) that it already sells.
Dirk Kronemeijer, CEO at GoodFuels Marine, explained: "In our journey so far we have focused on realising the wide-scale use of bio-marine gas oil (MGO) equivalent biofuel, but for over three years we have been working day and night to develop our BFO solution.
"The importance of its arrival in the market is further underlined by the dual prospect of impending lower sulphur and carbon legislation. Bringing this to market now offers shipping a near-zero carbon and SOx alternative to HFO, and VLSFO [very-low-sulphur fuel oil] - 0.5% blended fossil fuel - both of which will be prevalent in the market post-2020. From this point onwards we want to scale supply as fast as we can in order to actively contribute to the world's 1.5 degree challenge."
Kronemeijer added: "We want to greatly thank Norden A/S for being a pioneer and for joining us as we take this crucial step towards developing a carbon-busting solution that is scalable, truly sustainable, technically compliant and - crucially - affordable."
