Flotte Hamburg trialling HVO 100 fuel on course for climate neutrality

Flotte Hamburg (Hamburg Fleet), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Hamburg Port Authority, has decided to trial the use of hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO 100) as part of its decarbonization strategy.

While primarily focused on electrifying the city’s fleet of vessels, Flotte Hamburg opted for the trial use of HVO 100 since not all vessels can be electrified with current technology, the Port of Hamburg explained.

The pilot, to be conducted in cooperation with Friedrich G. Frommann GmbH & Co., involves the use of Shell-produced HVO 100 on three of Flotte Hamburg vessels.

The Hafenkapitän will be the first non-electric vessel to operate in an almost CO2-neutral manner as part of this trial. Other vessels taking part in the trial include the survey and sounding vessel Deepenschriewer III and the transport and inspection vessel Neßsand.

According to the Port of Hamburg, the HVO 100 is made from food waste and is entirely free of palm oil, meeting the sustainability criteria set out in the EU’s RED II directive. The declared emissions intensity of this fuel suggests a reduction in greenhouse gases (GHG) of at least 80%.

Depending on the pilot’s outcome, the fuel could be rolled out across the entire Hamburg Fleet, which has already used the low-emission synthetic fuel GTL (gas to liquid).

Karsten Schönewald, Managing Director of Flotte Hamburg, commented: “While Hamburg Fleet remains focused on electrification and innovative propulsion systems, we will only achieve our ambitious greenhouse gas reduction targets by complementing these efforts with innovative fuels such as HVO 100. For inland vessels, HVO 100 currently represents the most pragmatic interim solution. We are proud to help establish HVO 100 as a fuel in Hamburg and to be one of the pioneers in the Port of Hamburg.”

Flotte Hamburg ordered its first two fully electric ships in the summer of 2024. Hermann Barthel shipyard in Derben was awarded the contract worth approximately €8 million to build two 16-meter-long ships.

The fully electric work vessels will be used as transport and inspection vessels, primarily on the Inner and Outer Alster, but also in the Port of Hamburg.