How can buyers of fuel that is sold as being ‘green’ be assured that it was produced, transported, and handled in a truly sustainable way from well-to-tank?

With green fuels likely to cost more than their grey or blue equivalents (developed from non-renewable sources), it is vital that the fuels can be verified as coming from renewable sources and are not blended or mis-sold.

Moreover a marine fuel can be presented as carbon-neutral, but could release substantial emissions when measured on a life-cycle assessment or well-to-wake basis.

The Lloyd’s Register Maritime Decarbonisation Hub and Safetytech Accelerator have collaborated to assess fuel carbon intensity tracing and verification and technologies by two companies, TYMLEZ and Authentix, that can potentially play a role in capturing the greenhouse gas (GHG) footprint of the new low carbon fuels.

The outcome of this collaboration is a report entitled ‘Tracing the true carbon intensity of sustainable marine fuels’.

Today Lloyd’s Register hosted a webinar to talk through some of the key issues arising from the report and affecting sustainable assurance.

Jim Seely, Vice President, Solutions at Authentix, said, “The supply chain is often complex with multiple stakeholders. Hydrogen and ammonia will be similar to this, so the key is to develop a method to identify and quantify the green fuel, to ensure the physical product matches the digital signature, while the technologies are not exactly fully developed.

“Historically we’ve seen that properly designed and importantly, easy-to-implement solutions can be developed. Currently there’s trillions of gallons of fuel in the world that’s marked, and accomplishes this very thing.

“So when working in a complex environment, as this truly will be, piloting is an effective way to introduce new technologies and fine tune the solutions, and get a better understanding for all stakeholders. There needs to be an anchor between the physical world and digital fingerprint.”

He said when looking at any assurance programme, you have to look at security aspects. ‘Illicit actors’ will want to copy a signature or mimic a high-value product. “The chemical identity and physical security are key,” he said.

Once production methods are verified to be ‘green’, there needs to be an additional assurance process verifying that’s the same product that’s being transported, especially if the product is blended with other gases or products, before reaching the end user.

MPC Container Ships and Ineratec recently signed an agreement for the supply of synthetic Marine Diesel Oil (MDO) made from biogenic CO2 and renewable hydrogen, with delivery set to start in 2024.

Read more:  MPC Container Ships and Ineratec sign offtake agreement

Developing and implementing regulation will be another key hurdle.

Dr. Mohsen Khorasany, Head of Research and Innovation at TYMLEZ, said, “Regulation will play a significant role, however I believe the industry can move more quickly to matching the technology and investment readiness for low-carbon fuels, through private investment, innovation and collaboration among industrial stakeholders.

“I believe the combination of regulatory pressure and industrial effort will be needed to achieve significant reduction in carbon emissions from the maritime sector.”

Seely added that ‘quality regulations’ are best driven by full industry input.

“It’s critical to get industry buy in as much as possible, to better understand the impact of the regulations on processes and economics, and often those running the businesses have better insight into efficient implementation of new solutions than regulators may,” he said.

Gabriele Dado, Commercial Director at Safetytech Accelerator – a non-profit initiative launched by Lloyd’s Register five years ago – said, “If the main goal is to have zero emissions, then it doesn’t matter what fuel we use from a shipping owner of operator’s perspective – it’s very important that regulation comes in force, to mandate a set of standards for the overall chain, otherwise it becomes purely a matter of price differentials.”

The EU is still overly reliant on fossil fuels for transport and Member States are lagging behind in efforts to promote renewable energy sources such as sustainable biofuels, according to new EU data. New figures confirm the importance of preserving a role in Fit for 55 policies for proven solutions such as crop-based biofuels to meet ambitious climate goals; crop-based biofuels represented the majority of renewables in transport.

The shipping industry, which accounts for 3% of greenhouse gas emissions, is under huge pressure to decarbonise – and quickly.

The IMO’s 2050 ambition is to reduce the carbon intensity of shipping’s emissions by 40% by 2030 and 70% by 2050, compared with 2008 levels.