Sunday, March 17, 2019

"CMA CGM Partners with IKEA to Test Marine Biofuel On Board Containership"

My first thought on seeing the headline was that CMA CGM would be using waste meatball drippings from IKEA to upgrade from high-sulfur bunker fuel which got me thinking of land based conveyances and...
...then I got hungry.

From what I understand, the stories of cars converted to run on waste restaurant oil smelling like chips, fries,  frites etc and getting every dog in the neighborhood straining on their leashes are not true which seems a pity.

By gCaptain:
The logistics arm of retail giant IKEA has teamed up with French shipping group CMA CGM and others to test the use of sustainable marine bio-fuel oil on board a modern containership.

The first-its-kind-test was announced Tuesday by the GoodShipping Program, a not for profit initiative seeking to decarbonize the ocean freight industry. Participants involved include IKEA Transport & Logistics Services, CMA CGM and the Port of Rotterdam, as well as marine biofuel maker GoodFuels.

The test will commence with the bunkering of marine bio-fuel oil on a CMA CGM container vessel on March 19th at the Port of Rotterdam.

The GoodShipping program described the trial as a landmark test and major step towards decarbonization in ocean freight shipping.

The biofuel to be used has been developed by GoodFuels and can be used without any engine modifications. The fuel is completely derived from forest residues and waste oil products, and is expected to deliver 80-90% well-to-propeller CO2 reduction compared to fossil fuel equivalents and virtually eliminate sulphur oxide (SOx) emissions.

Participants in the program are hoping the trial can show the scalability and technical compliance of sustainable marine biofuel leading to the its wider commercial use within the maritime industry, establishing it as a viable option to curbing greenhouse gas and sulphur oxide emissions.

“The aim of our program has always been not only to reduce carbon emissions from shipping, but to show that the means to accelerate the energy transition are already available for the sector to grasp,” said Dirk Kronemeijer, CEO of The GoodShipping Program....MORE
For what it's worth biodiesel is a bit of a dead end at the moment both on an Energy-Return-On-Investment (EROI) basis and economics. The Holy Grails are catalysts that lower cost of production or bio-engineering to increase volume and lipid content of something like algae.
Not there yet however.