The ship Götheborg uses biofuels to reduce environmental and climate impact

Despite being a sailing ship, Götheborg needs generators to run all systems on board, and engines for situations when the ship cannot sail or when engines are needed in addition to the sails.

”As part of our commitment to minimise our environmental impact, we are now doing a trial with biofuels”, said Peter Alexandersson, CEO of SOIC Ship Management. “ We want to show that it works and that there are considerable environmental gains to be made from using renewable fuels. To slow down global warming, the reduction of CO2 emissions is the biggest challenge that we face, and this is a way for us to take concrete action. Sustainability is a key focus for both us and our expedition to Asia in 2022.”

The ship Götheborg’s engines are from the early 2000s and SOIC Ship Management has worked to find a solution with renewable fuel for minimal climate impact, without having to replace the engines. As a result, the RME fuel Verdis Polaris Marina from Adesso Bioproducts is now being used during the journey to and from Stockholm.

”The marine segment is a market that is still very early in the transition to fuels with a lower climate impact”, said Lars Lind, CEO at Adesso Bioproducts. “ We believe that liquid biofuels play an important role in this transition, as it will still take many years before extensive use of electric engines become a reality. In the meantime, biofuels have an instant positive effect on emission levels. We are very pleased that the ship Götheborg has chosen our product as part of their sustainability efforts, and we see them as a powerful symbol for a growing insight that the marine sector needs to take responsibility for their climate footprint.”

On an average day while sailing, the ship uses around 1.6 cubic meters of fuel. For safety reasons during the trial of the RME biofuels, conventional marine diesel is used in half of the fuel tanks on board the ship.

“ Götheborg has made a brave decision that demonstrates a power action to reduce their climate impact now”, said Victor Norberg at 2050 Consulting, sustainability advisor to Götheborg. “When using biofuels in all fuel tanks, the ship can reduce her emissions with more than 60 percent, compared with using conventional marine diesel. The international shipping industry today accounts for about 2 percent of the global climate emissions. By simply requesting alternative fuels for the upcoming Asian expedition, Götheborg sends a clear statement that there is a demand for sustainable marine fuels.”