Singapore’s Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD) has completed its final trial of biofuels for powering ships with German container firm Hapag-Lloyd and energy major BP, it said in a statement.

This was the fifth and final trial in an $18 million project the GCMD began in 2022 with various companies to test different biofuel blends to reduce carbon emissions.

Biofuels are among several alternative ship or bunker fuels that shippers are exploring to reduce carbon emissions.

During the final trial, BP supplied 4,500 metric tons of a B30 biofuel, a blend consisting of 30% neat fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) and 70% very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO), to a container vessel operated by Hapag-Lloyd at Rotterdam port.

The use of the B30 blend resulted in an emissions reduction of 27.9% compared with sailing on conventional VLSFO, according to findings from GCMD and Hapag-Lloyd.

The trial also employed a tracing technology to verify the origin and the amount of biofuel used in the blend.

Following the trials, the GCMD will release a framework to provide guidance on marine biofuel in the fourth quarter this year, it said.

The GCMD is also involved in other marine biofuel projects, including one with Japanese shipping major NYK Line this year.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Jeslyn Lerh; Editing by Tom Hogue)