Finland-headed energy and gas company Gasum Oy has announced that it is collaborating with Germany-headed global liner shipping major Hapag-Lloyd AG to supply their container vessels with liquefied biomethane (bioLNG) during a two-year tender period.
The Zero Emission Maritime Buyers Alliance (ZEMBA) is a first-of-its-kind buyers’ group within the maritime sector with the mission to accelerate the commercial deployment of zero-emission (ZE) shipping solutions.
ZEMBA is an initiative of Cargo Owners for Zero Emission Vessels (coZEV) and facilitated by the Aspen Institute Energy & Environment Program.
Earlier this year, Hapag-Lloyd won the first tender from ZEMBA for ocean shipping based on waste-based bioLNG that achieves at least a 90 percent reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
Gasum is supplying Hapag-Lloyd with the needed amount of bioLNG to fulfill the requirements of the ZEMBA tender, approximately 20,000 tonnes in total.
This agreement demonstrates that the green transition in the maritime transport sector is picking up speed. Gasum is proud to enable this transition by supplying shipping companies with bioLNG in the Northern European region. We need all hands on deck to drive the effort, and using bioLNG to fuel maritime transports is an effective way to reduce emissions already today, rather than in the distant future, said Jacob Granqvist, VP of Maritime at Gasum.
The bioLNG will be used on the shipping route between Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and Singapore during 2025–2026.
We are confident in our partnership with Gasum to supply waste-based bioLNG in line with the strict sustainability requirements of ZEMBA and the Renewable Energy Directive (REDII). This agreement is a stepping-stone towards our target to be net-zero carbon by 2045, said Jan Christensen, Senior Director of Fuel Purchasing at Hapag-Lloyd.
Fuelling transports with waste
Liquefied biomethane, bioLNG, is a fully renewable and environmentally friendly fuel with life-cycle GHG emissions that are, on average, 90 percent lower when compared with fossil fuel use.
Biomethane – aka renewable natural gas (RNG) – can be used in all the same applications as natural gas, including as a road and maritime transport fuel and as energy for industry.
Gasum’s biomethane is produced from waste feedstocks such as biowaste, sewage sludge, manure, and other industrial and agricultural side streams.
The residual solids and liquids created in the biogas production process are further processed and used as, for example, fertilizers in agriculture or raw materials in industrial processes.
Produce and procure renewable gas
Gasum is dedicated to procuring more renewable gas to satisfy the increasing demand for sustainable energy.
Gasum produces biogas in its own 17 biogas plants in Finland and Sweden and has established long-term partnerships with trusted and certified biogas producers throughout Europe.
Gasum’s goal is to offer 7 TWh per annum of renewable gas to its customers by 2027, including biomethane and e-methane. Achieving this goal the company says would mean a combined carbon dioxide (CO2) reduction of 1.8 million tonnes annually for its customers.
Gasum can provide bioLNG bunkering services to all shipping companies that have vessels running on liquefied natural gas (LNG), as LNG and bioLNG are fully interchangeable, and can also be mixed at any ratio.
