Update on Potential of Biofuels for Shipping

While the current use of biofuels in marine-engine applications is very limited, (the IMO 2020 Data Collection System (DCS) indicated that 99.91% of marine fuel use was of carbon-based conventional fuels) there is significant potential for biofuels to capture a larger share of the total maritime fuel consumption and support the EU and IMO’s GHG-reduction ambitions for the maritime industry. [...] While the demand grows, the availability of fully sustainable biofuels needs to grow and this alone will be challenging, due to the uncertainty in turn on the availability of sustainable biomass. [...] 1.2 Scope and Objectives The aim of this study is to provide an overview of the state of play on the use of biofuels in the shipping sector, to review standards and regulations and to analyse safety implications associated with their use. [...] The decarbonisation outcome is a result of the life cycle balance (from production to final usage) of the bio-sourced to replace the fossil-fuel, i.e., to what extent the carbon savings from production of biofuels compensates for the emissions resulting from burning the fuel onboard as opposed to a full fossil-based fuel usage. [...] This chapter analyses the state of play on the use of biofuels in the shipping sector, both current and for the foreseeable future.