Lowering Hinders for Maritime Biofuels

Biofuels could be the key to cleaner shipping, but higher costs, lack of infrastructure and regulatory hurdles stand yet in the way to lower the climate impact of the shipping sector. Which means exist to tackle current barriers for larger deployment?

The maritime shipping sector is under growing pressure to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and national bodies are developing rules, regulations, policies, roadmaps and support industrial acitivities, given the significant amount of predominantly fossil fuel based operations. Yet, the share of biofuels is about half a percent, while the energy demand remains growing.

The report ‘Lowering hinders for Maritime Biofuels’ by Task 39 (Biofuels to Decarbonize Transport) underlines methods to overcome barriers – described in a 2021 report* – based on interviews held with key stakeholders in the biofuels and e-fuels value chains involved with the marine freight transportation sector: fuel producerd, port authorities, regulators, shipping companies and research institutes.

Download the full report “Lowering Hinders for Maritime Biofuels”

To overcome barriers such as biofuel production costs, regulatory conditions and potential constraints on feeedstock resource, the report recommends to emphasise on:

• Understanding and developing the concept of Total Cost of Ownership for maritime operations using biofuels, as a way to have the additional costs absorbed and incorporated in the price of the transport good
• Exploring ways to expand the resource base to additional feedstocks, such as urban waste or forest product processing residues
• Assessment of the Book and Claim principle and how it can be well regulated and introduced across markets
• Gain experience with so-called ‘Green Corridors’ to learn how sustainable value chains can be developed.
• Last but not least the report sugest support for R&D activities for suitable engines for biofuel and renewable fuel such as ethanol, methanol and ammonia and its related infrastructure.
• Policy makers are challenged to invbestigate the intorduction of blending mandates and carbon taxation to create a demand market for establishe a sustainale production, distrbution and deployment of renewable fuels.

*Read the report on barriers (Simonsen, 2021).