OGCI partners with GCMD to Advance Solutions to Decarbonize Shipping

June 26, 2024

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(Oil and Gas Climate Initiative) Two-year partnership will focus on energy efficiency, future fuels and unlocking the carbon value chain -- The Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI) and the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD) today (June 25, 2024) announced a two-year coalition partnership agreement to work on a range of solutions to decarbonize the shipping industry.

Areas of collaboration will focus on energy efficiency to reduce emissions, future fuels that are lower in carbon intensity, such as ammonia, methanol and biofuel blends, and onboard carbon capture pathways.

Decarbonizing transport is a critical pathway to net zero and a key focus for OGCI – a CEO-led initiative of 12 of the world’s leading oil and gas companies. Around a fifth of transport emissions come from aviation and marine, and these emissions are harder to abate than road transport, which can more easily switch to electric power.

OGCI is working on the development of low-carbon fuels, such as biofuels, ammonia, hydrogen and E-fuels and has supported the development of onboard carbon capture and storage (OCCS) for ships. OGCI also brings expertise and knowledge from developing land-based carbon capture projects at CCUS hubs to the partnership to mature OCCS, which is at much earlier stage.

GCMD is supporting the decarbonisation of the maritime sector through pilots and trials. Their initiatives include enabling ammonia as a marine fuel, assuring the quality, quantity and emissions abatement of drop-in green fuels, unlocking the carbon value chain through OCCS and scaling the adoption of energy efficiency technologies.

Most recently, GCMD’s projects include a landmark study on offloading onboard captured carbon dioxide, a report examining the propensity of biofuel degradation in marine supply chains, and a pilot addressing concerns of long-term, continuous biofuels use on vessel operations.

Complementary strengths for end-to-end onboard carbon capture at scale

The partnership builds on an existing collaboration between OGCI and GCMD known as Project REMARCCABLE, an initiative to demonstrate end-to-end onboard carbon capture at scale. Phase 1 of this project is now complete and findings will be published later this year.

This partnership further complements GCMD’s efforts, helping to unlock the carbon value chain downstream from OCCS, including offloading, distribution, utilisation and sequestration or utilisation of onboard captured CO2.

As onshore CCUS hubs develop, shipping can be used to transport CO2 from sources to sinks. Sharing best practices, coordinating efforts and harmonising CO2 transport standards can also accelerate the development of CCUS hubs.

OGCI’s Managing Director Julien Perez said:

“This partnership is a great example of cross-industry collaboration to achieve emissions reductions as it combines knowledge and expertise from two critically important industries – energy and shipping – to unlock solutions to help decarbonize this hard-to-abate sector.”
Julien Perez, Managing Director, OGCI

Professor Lynn Loo, CEO of GCMD, said:

“Just as our eyes are on decarbonising shipping, we must not forget shipping’s critical role in transporting the next generation of energy from where it’s produced to where it’s needed. Our partnership with OGCI will lend an important lens on shipping’s role in the global fuel transition. As our Coalition partner, we look forward to forge pathways to build up the portfolio of viable solutions for shipping to achieve its net-zero targets.”
Professor Lynn Loo, CEO of GCMD

About OGCI

OGCI aims to lead the oil and gas industry’s response to climate change and accelerate action towards a net zero future consistent with the Paris Agreement.
Over the past decade OGCI members have demonstrated the essential role that oil and gas companies can play in delivering a net zero future.
Since 2017, OGCI’s members have collectively halved their methane emissions, cut flaring by 45%, invested $65 billion in low-carbon technologies, including renewables, CCUS and direct air capture, biofuels and hydrogen, and shared best practices across the industry and other sectors to accelerate decarbonization.
OGCI’s members are Aramco, bp, Chevron, CNPC, Eni, Equinor, ExxonMobil, Oxy, Petrobras, Repsol, Shell and TotalEnergies.

About the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation

The Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD) was established as a non-profit organisation on 1 August 2021 with a mission to support the decarbonisation of the maritime industry by shaping standards, deploying solutions, financing projects, and fostering collaboration across sectors.

Founded by six industry partners namely BHP, BW Group, Eastern Pacific Shipping, Foundation Det Norske Veritas, Ocean Network Express and Seatrium (formerly Sembcorp Marine), GCMD also receives funding from the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) for qualifying research and development programmes and projects. Since its founding, bp, Hapag-Lloyd and NYK Line have joined as Strategic partners. To-date, over 100 centre- and project-level partners have joined GCMD, contributing funds, expertise and in-kind support to accelerate the deployment of scalable low-carbon technologies and lowering adoption barriers.

Since its establishment, GCMD has launched four key initiatives to close technical and operational gaps in: deploying ammonia as a marine fuel, developing an assurance framework for drop-in green fuels, unlocking the carbon value chain through shipboard carbon capture and articulating the value chain of captured carbon dioxide as well as closing the data-financing gap to widen the adoption of energy efficiency technologies.

GCMD is strategically located in Singapore, the world’s largest bunkering hub and busiest transshipment port. For more information, go to www.gcformd.org READ MORE

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GCMD concludes biofuels supply chain trials (Global Center for Maritime Decarbonization)

Excerpts from Global Center for Maritime Decarbonization: The Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation concludes its final biofuel blend supply chain trial with Hapag-Lloyd; 4,500 MT of B30 marine biofuel blend with tracer bunkered at the Port of Rotterdam

The Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD) has successfully completed its final supply chain trial for biofuel blended with very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO). This marks the end of a series of trials initiated in July 2022 as part of a larger pilot to develop a framework to provide quality, quantity and GHG abatement assurances for drop-in fuels.

In this final trial, bp provided the B30 biofuel blend to the TIHAMA, a 19,870 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) container vessel operated by Hapag-Lloyd.

The biofuel component used is certified to the International Sustainability & Carbon Certification (ISCC) standard – a multistakeholder certification scheme for biobased materials. The biofuel component comprised neat Fatty Acid Methyl Ester (FAME) produced from food waste.

Authentix, a tracer solutions provider, supplied and dosed the FAME with an organic-based tracer at the storage terminal outside the Netherlands. The dosed FAME was then transported to the Port of Rotterdam for blending with VLSFO to achieve a B30 blend, before the blend was bunkered onboard the TIHAMA.

Similar to previous trials, GCMD engaged fuel testing company Veritas Petroleum Services (VPS) to witness the operations at all stages – from biofuel cargo transfer to bunkering. VPS also collected and conducted extensive laboratory tests on samples of the biofuel and biofuel blend collected at pre-determined points along the supply chain to assess quality per Standards EN 14214 and ISO 8217.

With well-to-wake emissions of 13.74 gCO2e/MJ, the neat FAME presented a 85.4% emissions reduction compared to the emissions of the fossil marine fuel. The reduced emissions complies with the MEPC 80, which requires a minimum emissions reduction of 65% in order for biofuels to be classified as sustainable.

GCMD and Hapag-Lloyd determined that consumption of the 4,500 MT B30 blend of FAME and VLSFO resulted in 27.9% emissions reduction compared to sailing on VLSFO.

A newly developed tracer deployed with this supply chain

GCMD collaborated with Authentix to develop and deploy a new organic-based tracer to authenticate the origin and verify the amount of FAME present in the blend. The proprietary tracer blended homogeneously with FAME and was detected at expected concentrations at all sampling points along the supply chain.

This trial marks the first deployment of this tracer in a marine fuel supply chain. Previously, similar tracers were used to authenticate and quantify biofuels in road transport and LPG supply chains.

Development of a comprehensive biofuels assurance framework underway

With the completion of this trial, GCMD has deployed a diverse range of tracer technologies, including synthetic DNA and element-based tracers, in addition to the organic-based tracer used in this trial. The trials have also included the development of a chemical fingerprinting methodology and the evaluation of lock-and-seal and automatic identification systems (AIS) as additional solutions to ensure the integrity of the biofuels supply chain.

Learnings on tracer limitations and benefits will be incorporated into a framework that recommends appropriate use to ensure consistent and robust performance. This effort will complement existing ISCC by providing additional supply chain assurance through physical traceability.

The insights from these trials will be shared in a series of reports covering issues, such as traceability, biofuel degradation, supply chain optimisation and abatement costs. These findings will culminate in a comprehensive assurance framework to provide guidance on biofuels use, slated for release in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Spokesperson quotes

Over the past 18 months, GCMD has meticulously conducted these supply chain trials of biofuels use under business-as-usual conditions, collaborating with partners to test different tracing techniques. The aim is to remove adoption barriers and increase user confidence and uptake of biofuels by assuring users that they are getting value for the cost premium, mitigating fears of biofuels adulteration, and preventing fraud.” -- Professor Lynn Loo, CEO of GCMD

We are delighted to have partnered with GCMD and bp in this important trial. The deployment of the new tracer technology is a good step forward in ensuring the integrity and authenticity of the biofuel supply chain. It enhances trust by verifying the origin of the biofuels. Hapag-Lloyd is dedicated to exploring innovative solutions to drive positive change within the industry.” -- Arne Maibohm, Director Sustainability at Hapag-Lloyd READ MORE