Singapore: GoodFuels Marine, BHP, and MPA collaborate on biofuels during closed-door roundtable

Singapore: GoodFuels Marine, BHP, and MPA collaborate on biofuels during
closed-door roundtable

In Singapore, a closed-door biofuel roundtable organized by the Maritime and
Port Authority of Singapore, BHP and GoodFuels Marine, brought some
excitement to the maritime biofuels world - almost as much excitement as
when we first saw Monty Python's the Knights of the Roundtable song and
dance.

While we didn't hear about any dancing or singing at the roundtable, it was
thrilling nonetheless with a meeting in one of the world's largest shipping
hubs that brought together shipowners and others in maritime to network,
share insights into the use of biofuels to meet increasingly stringent
environmental regulations, and explore areas of collaboration.

And collaborate they did! One of the roundtable results was a signed Letter
of Intent by MPA, BHP and GoodFuels to collaborate on a biofuels pilot
project in Singapore, which is expected to be carried out early next year.

The roundtable's goal was to drive discussions on the use of biofuels as a
sustainable alternative fuel for the future of shipping, and like the
Knights of the Roundtable, they certainly had all the right players at the
table.

The Nanyang Technological University soon to be established center of
excellence focusing on maritime environment and energy, with support from
MPA and the Singapore Maritime Institute (SMI), was also present to seek
collaborative partnerships with shipowners to deepen Singapore's
capabilities on the maritime environment and bio-energy front.

Several other shipowner companies were at the roundtable as well, including
Berge Bulk, Boskalis, Oldendorff, Mitsui OSK Lines and NYK Bulkship.

The pilot project

While other shipowners may get involved, BHP, an Australian-based extractor
and processor of minerals, oil and gas which has marketing and sales based
in Singapore, will be the first to get their vessel refueled or bunkered in
Singapore as part of the pilot project.

GoodFuels CEO, Dirk Kronemeijer, told the Digest over the weekend, "We
believe that biofuels will play a crucial role to help tackle the most
crucial challenge and emission parameter of the next decade in shipping:
CO2. We are therefore on a mission to roll out our service points across the
globe as fast as we can together with our partners and clients. Singapore as
largest bunkering hub in the world is therefore a logical first step in Asia
for us - based on a great first client helping to pave the low Carbon way
for us: BHP."

The pilot project will be implemented in early 2018 so that biofuels would
be available in the port of Singapore. The feedstock for the pilot project
will be used cooking oil (UCO) and project completion is not confirmed yet
as it will depend on the delivery frequency and volumes, according to a
Digest interview with Isabel Welten, GoodFuels' Business Development Manager
Marine.

Welten also confirmed with the Digest that the long-term plan is to get the
project to commercialization and is the reason why MPA is involved. "The
pilot will serve as a means for the shipowner(s) to get acquainted with
biofuels," Welten told the Digest. "Based on the market demand, we aim to
get some local incentives in place."

What the good knights say

One of the reasons we are so enthusiastic about this roundtable is because
all the players around the table are pretty darn excited too, and for good
reason since Singapore is one of the largest shipping hubs in the world.

Tan Suan Jow, Director (Sustainability Office) of MPA, said in their press
release, "As the largest bunkering hub in the world, Singapore is working
towards providing cleaner alternative sources of fuel to cater to the future
energy needs of the global shipping industry. Among the topics discussed at
the roundtable included barriers to the use to biofuels and how these could
be addressed." He also said they had ongoing efforts towards a clean, green
and community-oriented port as MPA prepares for Singapore's future port.

Who is MPA anyway? The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore has a
mission to develop Singapore as a premier global hub port and international
maritime center, and to advance and safeguard Singapore's strategic maritime
interests. MPA takes on the roles of Port Authority, Port Regulator, Port
Planner, IMC Champion, and National Maritime Representative.

Andrew Tan, Chief Executive of MPA said, "The roundtable comes at an
opportune time in light of the International Maritime Organization's (IMO)
0.5% global sulphur cap on marine fuels which will come into effect from
2020, as well as IMO's longer term plan to lower carbon emissions for
shipping. MPA welcomes dialogues across stakeholders and will continue to
work with relevant parties as we prepare the bunkering industry for the
future."

Abdes Karimi, Manager Ocean Freight Operations and Sustainability of BHP,
said, "In a world fighting to combat climate change, it is important that
marine biofuels get in the 'evoked set' of options for shippers to choose
from. Today, BHP is proud to have taken the leading role in this
initiative."

And of course, Kronemeijer at GoodFuels said, "We are very proud that our
'biofuel-footprint' of supply locations and sustainable customers is
spreading from Europe to the largest bunkering port in the world and our
first Asian partner as well. From now on, sustainable marine biofuels are
available in Singapore for those ship and freight owners that want to
eliminate their carbon and sulphur emissions."

The excitement builds upon other actions by head knight, GoodFuels

We see GoodFuels as one of the leaders in this roundtable because of other
recent actions they have taken to push biofuels further in the marine
industry.

This June, as reported in Biofuels Digest, HEINEKEN Netherlands, Nedcargo
and GoodFuels launched a pilot to demonstrate a sustainable drop-in marine
fuel on-board of the 'For Ever' - an inland barge dedicated to transport
Heineken export beer, from the HEINEKEN brewery in Zoeterwoude to the
deep-sea terminals in Rotterdam. The advanced marine fuel supplied by
GoodFuels contains 30% biofuel and thereby reduces CO2-emissions by more
than 25%, whilst also sharply reducing local emissions as nitrogen and
particulate matter. The project will showcase the possibility of reducing
emissions of inland waterway transport without any vessel modification.
That's pretty impressive in our book.

GoodFuels has also taken the lead by developing the GoodShipping Program to
help cargo owners boost biofuel uptake, as reported in the Digest in May.
The groundbreaking initiative enables ocean cargo owners with a quick,
transparent and convenient way to reduce their carbon footprint - from the
industry itself, and not from alternative mitigation schemes - by driving
'purchasing' biofuel in an initiative that is designed to accelerate
low-carbon fuels in the marine fuel mix.

The 'GoodShipping Program' comes at a pivotal moment for an industry that
has always been regarded environmentally friendly (on a ton-mile basis).
Following the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015, in which shipping emissions
were omitted, alongside aviation, the industry has been exposed and does not
have a clear target or approach for its GHG, or carbon, reduction. It is
expected that emissions from shipping will increase with 50% to 250% by
2050, which would mean the sector becomes responsible for more than 15% of
the total global CO2-emissions.

The excitement continues as we reported in March that GoodFuels won Port of
Amsterdam's tender for its fleet of five patrol vessels. The vessels will
now run on fuel containing 30% biodiesel, reducing CO2 emissions by 25%
compared to fossil diesel. Kronemeijer said, "Port of Amsterdam and Port of
Rotterdam have actively supported the development of marine biofuels from
the beginning. This is why we are especially pleased that, after a
successful pilot, Port of Amsterdam will be able to reduce the CO2 emissions
of its own patrol vessels by 25%. We are in turn committed to further invest
in the Port in the field of the storage, production and distribution of
sustainable marine biofuels in order to accelerate the development towards
clean and low-carbon shipping."

As reported in the Digest in September, 2016, Boskalis and GoodFuels Marine
successfully tested sustainable wood-based drop-in biofuel called UPM
BioVerno in a dredger. The fuel supplied by Finnish UPM Biofuels was the
first ever biofuel derived from wood residue used in a marine fleet.
Boskalis vessel "EDAX", a 1696 deadweight tonne (DWT) cutter suction
dredger, successfully used the fuel in bio/fossil blends going up to 50% as
it worked on phase one of the Marker Wadden project in the first half of
2016. This resulted in a CO2 saving of 600Mt over the operating period.

Check out the Digest's 2016 8-Slide Guide to GoodFuels Marine.

The bottom line

Working on a pilot project in one of the world's largest shipping hubs is a
big deal and something worth singing and dancing about. With the MPA, BHP
and GoodFuels working together to get biofuels more of a reality on shipping
and maritime vessels, we foresee more exciting things happening to bring
more sustainable biofuels to an industry that really needs it. Given
GoodFuels recent history on other projects, they seem to really be moving
the needle forward and it's just a matter of time before we see biofuels
more intricately connected with the maritime industry like it has been with
the aviation industry.

We see this as that middle step for the maritime industry - it's beyond
talks and now moving into action with pilot projects and real deals. Based
on our communications with GoodFuels, stay tuned as we see a lot more
movement coming with maritime biofuels and we expect more news coming from
them in the next few months.

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Link to Original Article:
http://www.biofuelsdigest.com/bdigest/2017/09/24/singing-a-song-in-singapore
-goodfuels-marine-bhp-and-mpa-collaborate-on-biofuels-during-closed-door-rou
ndtable/

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John Diecker
APT Consulting Group Co., Ltd.

www.aptthailand.com