Boskalis’ Fleet to Get a Taste of Marine Biofuels

Dutch dredging and marine specialist Boskalis and Finish corporation Wärtsilä have teamed up with GoodFuels Marine, the first marine biofuel company focused on the global commercial fleet with the aim of pioneering the development of sustainable “drop in” marine biofuels for the shipping industry. 

Netherlands-based GoodFuels Marine and its partners have decided to spearhead a two-year pilot programme to accelerate the development of truly sustainable, scalable and affordable marine biofuels.

The programme’s focus will be on delivering and analysing a sustainable feedstock, securing industry certification, and preparing the building blocks for large-scale production. Additionally, the consortium will initiate a global scalability study involving leading shipowners, universities, NGOs, ports, biofuel companies and other industry stakeholders. The aim will be to identify tangible opportunities for scaling supply to the world’s commercial shipping fleet.

Dirk Kronemeijer, CEO, GoodFuels Marine, said:  “We believe that the international shipping market is now ready and well-placed to embrace truly sustainable, long term alternative fuels that can meet all stringent technical, economical and sustainability standards, similar to the sustainable jet fuel market five years ago. As the shipping industry seeks means of contributing towards carbon and wider emissions reduction, we are excited to be part of such a strong consortium with the expertise and motivation needed to establish this new market.”

The consortium will test several next generation biofuels at the Wärtsilä laboratory in Vaasa, Finland before ‘sea trials’ are carried out on various vessels within Boskalis’ global fleet. With the objective of developing a fuel mix that is fully sustainable, the programme seeks to promote a lower carbon footprint for the maritime sector.

“As ports with environmental excellence at our core, we embrace the vision of next generation biofuels supporting a more sustainable future for global marine transport. In addition we see marine biofuels as a potential building block to boost the bio-based production and economy in our respective ports, the CEO of the Port of Rotterdam, Allard Castelein and CEO of the Port of Amsterdam, Dertje Meijer said in a joint statement.