Biofuels | DNV
The use of biofuels in shipping is picking up. As the industry prepares to meet regulations requiring decarbonization, biofuels – in the form of methane, methanol or fuel oils – have been touted as a convenient way for shipping to achieve these goals. Since CO2 emitted from biofuels during combustion is regarded as potentially carbon-neutral as biomass is able to absorb CO2 during growth, certain biofuels are regarded as sustainable.
Biofuels can, therefore, play a significant role in the maritime industry’s decarbonization efforts and will reduce shipping’s impact on climate change. Biofuels can be used as drop-in fuels, mixing with similar fossil versions of the fuels. This is an attractive option to shipowners as it provides them with a flexible way of achieving carbon reductions without having to make large capital investments. The work presented in this white paper sheds light on the potential role of biofuels to enable decarbonization of shipping.
An overview of the current status with respect to uptake and regulations for shipping is given, and we provide practical advice on preparations needed before using biofuels onboard a vessel. In addition, we estimate the total potential production of sustainable biofuels given constraints 1. Executive summary on biomass and compare this to the current and planned production capacity from our database covering more than 5 000 existing and planned biofuel production projects. Current global production capacity of sustainable biofuels is around 11 million tonnes of oil equivalent (Mtoe) per year and our database indicates that this could grow to 23 Mtoe per year by 2026. Using stringent sustainability criteria, we estimate a sustainable and economical potential supply of biofuels of 500 –1 300 Mtoe per year by 2050. Therefore, a major build-up of sustainable biofuel production capacity is needed before the full biofuel potential is reached. If shipping was to decarbonize fully by 2050 primarily using biofuels, 250 Mtoe of sustainable biofuels would be needed annually. Sectoral: training
Methanol, Ammonia and Hydrogen
