VARO Energy and Höegh Autoliners have announced a strategic partnership focused on supplying biofuels for deep-sea transportation from Europe.
According to their statement, this partnership is aligned with the strategies of both companies: Höegh Autoliners is dedicated to offering ocean transportation solutions with a focus on reducing environmental impact and supporting the decarbonisation of its customers’ supply chains. VARO’s mission is to be the partner of choice for customers in the energy transition by providing them with the low-carbon energy solutions they need in order to decarbonise.
I am delighted that VARO will be collaborating with Höegh to forge innovative solutions, share insights, and drive sustainable progress, contributing to the ambitions set by the International MaritimeOrganization (IMO)
… said Dev Sanyal, CEO of VARO
Pros and Cons of biofuels
As presented by Bill Stamatopoulos, Global Business Development Director, VeriFuel, during the 2023 SAFETY4SEA Limassol Forum.
Pros of biofuels:
- Four-year experience with successful trials since 2019
- No CAPEX is required
- Improved CO2 emission factor
- Limited safety risk as it is not toxic (like ammonia) and the flash point is always higher than 100 degrees, so it meets the SOLAS requirement
- Can use the existing bunkering infrastructure
- Mix with fossil fuels a.k.a. “drop in”
Cons of biofuels:
- Availability
- Cost (20-40% over the VLSFO price)
- Energy content is lower, but they have better ignition and combustion properties
- Technical challenges that are easily tackled in terms of long-term storage, microbial growth and corrosion
- Lack of crew training
- Storage and transfer temperatures above the cloud point
- Aviation may also use them so not all of the available biofuel is for shipping.
This marks a significant step forward in our commitment to becoming a leader in carbon-neutral deep-sea shipping and in our strategy to reduce our environmental footprint and combat climate change.
… commented Andreas Enger, CEO of Höegh Autoliners
To remind, recently, Sumitomo Corporation and Höegh Autoliners, on the back of COP28 held in Dubai, forged an agreement to look into the supply of clean ammonia as a bunker fuel at the ports of Singapore and Jacksonville
