Danes to produce marine bio fuel

A partnership agreement has been established between Steeper Energy, the Port of Frederikshavn and Aalborg University. The plant will use wood materials sourced from Russia, the Baltic states, Finland, Sweden or Canada to produce between 50,000 and 100,000 tonnes of fuel per year. The wood will be transported by sea, making use of existing port facilities for biomass handling.

The move is in response to the IMO regulations entering force in 2015 which will require ships to burn fuel with a maximum 0.1% sulphur limit in ECAs, including the Baltic. The biofuel to be produced in Denmark will be sulphur-free. The facility is intended to service the approximately 100,000 ships travelling through the Skagen straits each year, representing a total market of around 900,000 tonnes of fuel, according to the Port of Frederikshavn.

As part of the project, Aalborg University will look at use of alternative feedstocks including locally-sourced manure, straw and coppice. However, Sleeper Energy stresses that the plant will be established on a single feedstock, i.e. wood, in order to establish a solid business case.