Norden takes stake in biofuel developer
The minority holding in MASH Makes, a Danish-Indian biofuel developer that develops renewable fuels from biomass waste, will allow Norden to obtain preferential access to renewable fuels, specifically biooil, at favourable pricing.
The partnership also places Norden at the forefront of the research and development of future renewable fuels, where Norden can also benefit from future renewable biofuels once developed. Norden has also entered into a strategic offtake-agreement with MASH, as well as a potential production site financing agreement.
The two companies have been collaborating on the use of biofuels since 2021. Based on this collaboration and subsequent in-depth review of the MASH Makes technical platform and business model, Norden favourably assessed the viability and scalability of MASH Makes’ biofuel platform.
“We cannot rely solely on traditional offtake agreements with fuel suppliers to achieve decarbonisation at the necessary speed that climate change requires,” says Norden CEO, Jan Rindbo. “We need to be a greater part of the supply chain, to both ensure significant volumes and attractive prices that can make Norden competitive in offering low emission freight solutions to our customers.”
Norden was in 2018 one of the first shipping companies to successfully trial 100% biofuel on a large ocean-going vessel.
“With this investment, we are turning our attention to the next generation of biofuels and scale up consumption of biofuel,” says Adam Nielsen, Head of Logistics & Climate Solutions at Norden. “The benefit of biooil is that it can be used in existing vessel technologies and bridge the gap between transitioning from fossil fuels to carbon free fuels, which requires new vessel technologies.”
As a strategic partner, Norden’s role will be to help MASH Makes bring its biooil products to the marine fuel market and offtake biofuel for Norden’s fleet. Norden expects to conduct the first trial onboard Norden vessels in early 2024. Furthermore, the expectation is that MASH Makes can gradually ramp up its production and become a significant supplier to Norden’s fleet within the next three years in strategically important locations for decarbonising global tramp shipping.
