In Norway, Biokraft AS, a subsidiary of Sweden-headed biogas producer and technology supplier Scandinavian Biogas AB, has announced that it has signed a multi-year contract with Hurtigruten to supply liquefied biogas (LBG) to Hurtigruten’s ships. The partnership, which will result in substantial emissions reductions, signals a paradigm shift in the shipping industry and a natural consequence of the commissioning last year of the world’s largest LBG plant in Skogn, Norway.
Under the over seven-year contract – the largest global contract to date for supply of liquefied biogas (LBG) to a shipping operator – biogas produced from organic waste will be delivered on a near-daily basis to Hurtigruten’s ships. Hurtigruten will retrofit at least six of its vessels to run on biogas as from 2021. The first delivery of liquid biogas produced at the biogas plant in Skogn is expected to be made in 2020.
With this agreement, Scandinavian Biogas, Biokraft and Hurtigruten are leading the way in the sustainable transition away from fossil fuels in the shipping industry. We are consequently taking a major step to change an industry that currently accounts for a large share of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions. Through Biokraft, Scandinavian Biogas wants to clear the decks for Norway to maintain its role as a leading shipping nation by promoting the use of locally produced, renewable energy as a substitute for fossil fuels, said Matti Vikkula, CEO of Scandinavian Biogas.
Hurtigruten, a world leader in maritime tourism and cruise liner exploration travel, decided in 2017 to invest over NOK 7 billion (≈ EUR 722 million) in technical and sustainable solutions by 2021. By operating its fleet of vessels on a combination of electricity, natural gas (LNG) and liquid biogas (LBG), Hurtigruten will be the world’s first shipping operator to use biogas on a large scale.
This partnership is a major and significant move for us, for green solutions in the shipping industry and, most importantly, for the environment. Our ships will now literally be fuelled by nature. Biogas is the greenest fuel for our industry, and we view it as an asset and a self-evident solution. Our hope is that the shipping industry will follow this development, said Hurtigruten CEO Daniel Skjeldam.
Hurtigruten is a key player within the Norwegian and international shipping industry, taking guests from across the globe to destinations such as the Antarctic, the Arctic and the Norwegian coast every year. The Biokraft-Hurtigruten partnership sets an example for the shipping industry. Promotion of renewable energy also helps preserve nature and wildlife along Norway’s coastline.
We are extremely pleased about this collaboration with Hurtigruten, which introduces biogas as a fuel in the shipping industry. Norway’s history as a leading maritime nation goes back for many generations. Our oceans are now under serious pressure from pollution and climate change. This is what Biokraft is working to change with dedicated partners like Hurtigruten, said Håvard Wollan, CEO, Biokraft.
Scandinavian Biogas’s vision is to utilise waste as a valuable resource, rather than viewing it as a costly problem. The group operates the world’s largest production facility for liquid biogas (LBG), in Skogn, Norway, outside Trondheim. The facility produces liquid biogas based on organic waste from the Norwegian fishing and forestry industry, which will now be delivered as fuel to Hurtigruten. At full capacity, the plant will produce 12.5 million Nm3 of biogas annually.
