Meet WasteFuel, the Company Helping Maersk Achieve Its Decarbonisation Goals

BioRefineries/Renewable Fuel Production, Business News/Analysis, Funding/Financing/Investing, International, Opinions, Policy, Sustainability

February 5, 2022

Print This Article Share it With Friends

by Ilaria Grasso Macola (City A.M.) … Maersk, the second largest shipping operator in the world, announced in January it would become net-zero by 2040, a decade before its original target. … To achieve such ambitious targets, the group is relying on a few trustworthy partners, including Californian low-carbon biofuel developer WasteFuel.

WasteFuel, a portfolio company of US sustainable investment firm IX Investments, received backing from Maersk and other partners – including Salesforce’s boss Marc Benioff and Aileen Getty – to develop sustainable shipping fuels.

“You know, the industry produces about 950 million tonnes a year of carbon dioxide, about 2.5 per cent of global CO2,” Trevor Neilson, WasteFuel’s chief executive and co-founder of IX Investments, told City A.M. in an interview.

Instead of experimenting with different technologies, WasteFuel develops its shipping fuel solutions licensing proven technology from around the world.

“We made a decision on the front end, that we weren’t going to go out and experiment with new technologies or try to develop our own,” he said. “When it comes to climate, we don’t have time for that. We have 417 part per million of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere.”

Maersk’s backing was significant as it allowed WasteFuel to launch in January WasteFuel Marine, a renewable fuel solution which aims to reduce CO2 and NOx emissions by 95 and 80 per cent respectively.

To produce WasteFuel Marine the company has relied on the anaerobic digestion, a process by which bacteria break down organic matter in the absence of oxygen.

“That will be our initial pathway to methanol,” argued Neilson. “But there are a lot of other ways to produce methanol that over time we’ll start using as we think their cost and efficacy make them usable.”

…

In November, the Wall Street Journal reported that the International Maritime Organisation was considering a new shipping tax to help the industry transition to net-zero quicker.

If adopted the new policy would see ship companies be charged $100 for each metric tonne of CO2 emitted per trip, the outlet reported, raising around $1tn over the next 30 years. READ MORE

Comments are closed.

Advanced BioFuels USA