GCMD uses fuel tracer in its third biofuel supply chain trial

The Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD) has run a third biofuel supply chain test as part of its pilot programme to establish a framework for the drop-in marine fuel.

PHOTO: Getty Images

The Singapore-based non-profit organisation carried out the trial on Kaupang, a mid-sized gas carrier equipped with an LPG dual-fuel engine.

LPG-powered engines need a certain amount of pilot fuel for combustion, typically around 10%, GCMD's chief executive Lynn Loo said in a social media post. By using biofuel as a pilot fuel the vessel can further reduce emissions, she adds.

The Kaupang, was bunkered with about 200 mt of B30 biofuel - a blend of 30% hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) and 70% marine gas oil (MGO) at the Port of Vlissingen (Flushing) last month. The biofuel blend was supplied by Dutch biofuel supplier GoodFuels and was used as a pilot fuel.

Unlike other trials the biofuel blending this time was carried onboard a bunker barge, Loo said.

With maritime firm Eastern Pacific Shipping (EPS) as a partner for this project, GCMD deployed an element-based tracer in the HVO to ensure and validate its origination and quantity in the biofuel blend. “The (fuel) tracer was dosed in line with HVO and blended with MGO onboard the bunker vessel,” GCMD further added.

GCMD estimates that the trial demonstrated a 20% net reduction in emissions compared to VLSFO on a well-to-wake basis. Prior to this trial, GCMD traced two supply chains of FAME-based biofuel blends with synthetic DNA, effectively tracking the journey from production to consumption through Singapore.

“Different tracing techniques can help ensure authenticity and quantity of sustainable biofuels in the supply chain,” said GCMD’s chief technology officer Dr Sanjay Kuttan. “Using a biofuel blend with LPG can be a feasible pathway for ships to meet the recently revised IMO indicative decarbonisation checkpoint for 2030,” he added.

The remaining two supply chains of the GCMD-led biofuels assurance framework pilot will be trialed in the upcoming months, said Johannes Schürmann, the commercial director of GoodFuels. “Learnings from these trials and details of the assurance framework will be shared broadly through a public report in early 2024,” he added further.

By Aparupa Mazumder 

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