- TotalEnergies has supplied its first cargo of 100 per cent biofuel for ships in Singapore.
- TotalEnergies Marine Fuels was among Singapore’s top biofuels last year.
TotalEnergies has supplied its first cargo of 100 per cent biofuel for ships in Singapore as it seeks to expand its sales of lower-carbon marine fuels, the French energy major said.
Marine biofuel is among several alternative bunker fuels that shippers are adopting to cut emissions and to gradually move away from dirtier residual fuels. The demand for marine biofuel in Singapore, one of the world’s busiest ports, is expected to grow gradually.
TotalEnergies Marine Fuels, among Singapore’s top biofuel last year, said the 100 per cent biofuel, or B100, was made from used cooking oil sourced in Southeast Asia and could cut greenhouse gas emissions by between 80 per cent and 90 per cent on a life-cycle basis.
The 700-metric-ton cargo of used cooking oil methyl ester (UCOME) was certified under the International Sustainability & Carbon Certification (ISCC) system.
The cargo was supplied on August 5 to a Hyundai Glovis car carrier ship using an IMO Type II chemical bunker tanker owned by Singapore-based Global Energy Group.
TotalEnergies Marine Fuels said in January that annual marine biofuel demand in Singapore could potentially double from 2023 levels to almost 1 million metric tons by 2025. By comparison, the total bunker fuel demand in Singapore last year was 51.8 million tons.
Biofuel is a fuel that is produced over a short time span from biomass, rather than by the very slow natural processes involved in the formation of fossil fuels such as oil. Biofuel can be produced from plants or from agricultural, domestic or industrial biowaste.
Biofuels emit fewer greenhouse gas emissions when burned in an engine and are generally considered carbon-neutral fuels as the carbon emitted has been captured from the atmosphere by the crops used in production.