Photo: Total Energies Marine Fuels
Total Energies Marine Fuels announced April 28 that it has completed its first biofuel bunkering trials in France following the success of similar tests in Singapore last year, which led to the commencement of commercial operations.
The launch of these biofuels activities underscores Total Energies Marine Fuels’ commitment to contribute to the decarbonization of the shipping industry by developing a suite of low-carbon fuels, including liquefied natural gas (LNG), biomethane, e-methanol and e-ammonia, among others.
Two biofuel bunker operations took place in January in France.
Photo: Total Energies Marine Fuels
In the first trial, at the Port of Le Havre, the Total Energies-chartered tanker Minerva Tychi was supplied with 200 metric tons of a bio-marine gas oil (MGO) blend Jan. 3.
The blend was composed of MGO and 30 percent second-generation, sustainable, waste-based and ISCC-certified biodiesel made from used cooking oil, via truck-to-ship transfer.
The operation marks the first biofuel bunker operation that was completed at the French port.
It was also notable because it leveraged Total Energies’ companywide resources to set up a local marine biofuel supply chain, from the sourcing of biobased feedstock to the provision of logistics and blending solutions and the eventual bunker delivery to the tanker.
In the second trial, Total Energies and Corsica Ferries joined forces and successfully completed the first biofuel bunker operation in the French Mediterranean.
During the bunkering in the Port of Toulon in southern France, 100 metric tons of biofuel comprising MGO blended with 30 percent second-generation, waste-based and ISCC-certified biodiesel made from used cooking oil was transferred via truck-to-ship operations to the 26,000-ton ro-ro/passenger ship Mega Express Two.
“We are proud to be first movers in marine biofuels in the Port of Le Havre and in the French Mediterranean,” said Louise Tricoire, vice president of Total Energies Marine Fuels. “These operations follow the launch in January of our first commercial biofuel bunkering operation in Singapore with Hapag-Lloyd. Importantly, these trials underline our ambition and our readiness to expand our biofuels offer to our customers across Europe and beyond, to help support the growing decarbonization goals of the global shipping industry.”
Biofuels can help reduce emissions released by existing vessels because they can be blended or dropped into existing conventional fuels with little or no technological developments required on vessels.
Depending on the proportion of biobased components one can blend, biofuels can provide greenhouse-gas emissions savings up to 90 percent from a well-to-wake approach.
It also provides a viable, cleaner fuel option for ships in the Mediterranean Sea to align with tighter sulfur limits, when International Maritime Organization regulations take effect as part of the region’s new emission-control area (ECA) designation in 2025.
As part of Total Energies’ strategy to produce a new generation of biofuels for use in transport, Total Energies is investing in biofuels projects based on advanced feedstock, thereby sourcing from the circular economy and limiting the competition for and impact on arable land.
Through the company’s biorefineries, technology and R&D centers, future marine biofuels and associated lubricants and additives are currently undergoing tests to increase the overall engine performance.
The goal is to launch these advanced biofuel blends into trial operations in the near future.
“With the shipping industry’s growing interest for biofuels, we see biofuels potentially accounting between 3 percent and 5 percent of the global bunker-fuel mix by 2030 and for leading ports, this percentage could go way above,” Tricoire added. “Our aim is to be the bunker supplier of choice in our shipping customers’ decarbonization pathways.”
