United European Car Carriers (UECC) has secured a major bunkering deal with Titan Clean Fuels to source liquefied biomethane (LBM) that will enable the company to reduce its GHG emissions by over 75,000t in 2025 – or around one-third of its annual direct emissions from vessel operations.
Titan will provide ISCC-EU certified mass balanced LBM for bunkering at the Port of Zeebrugge to fuel UECC’s five dual-fuel LNG Pure Car and Truck Carriers (PCTC) operating in the European shortsea trade under the supply contract covering the rest of this year and 2025 when a minimum of 12,000t of LBM will be supplied.
UECC is expanding its collaboration with Titan following the launch with the Dutch clean fuel supplier earlier in 2024 of the ‘Sail for Change’ sustainability initiative in which four major European vehicle manufacturers – including Toyota and Ford – have now signed up to use UECC vessels fuelled by low-carbon LBM.
UECC CEO Glenn Edvardsen said: “This key supply agreement represents another massive leap towards decarbonisation of the UECC fleet. We have listened to our customers and studied their decarbonisation targets. We believe that this agreement offers a great opportunity to mobilise our customers’ sustainability ambitions through our ‘Sail for Change’ fuel switching programme. This will enable us to further significantly reduce the carbon footprint of vessel operations for our customers to mitigate their exposure to FuelEU Maritime being implemented next year, as well as the EU ETS. With this pact, we are securing supplies for the longer term of this sustainable fuel to capitalise on the potential for emissions reduction of our dual-fuel LNG vessels. We are also taking a big step towards our goal of cutting GHG intensity from fuel use by 45% by 2030 versus a 2014 baseline.”
The company estimates the use of LBM will eliminate another 75,000t of its global Scope 1 well-to-wake emissions from ship operations of approximately 220,000t/yr. This follows a 250% year-on-year reduction in tank-to-wake emissions of 60,000 tonnes last year, driven largely by increased use of biofuels, as well as LNG.
UECC Energy and Sustainability Manager Daniel Gent said: “As a first-mover in alternative fuel adoption, we believe LBM meets the necessary criteria in terms of sustainability, technical suitability, accessibility and commercial viability for immediate cost-effective gains in emission reductions amid ever-tightening regulatory targets. Increased use of this fuel will allow UECC to further accelerate decarbonisation of its fleet by progressively reducing emissions in line with carbon intensity limits under FuelEU and CII, bolstering our compliance surplus under FuelEU while also minimising liabilities under the EU ETS. As well as safeguarding the environment, boosting green compliance enables us to avoid costs related to new regulation for the benefit of our clients seeking sustainable maritime transport to meet their environmental goals through lowering their Scope 3 emissions.”
Gent points out that the company aims to achieve 20% use of LBM, as well as 17% use of biofuels and 20% use of LNG, across its current 15-vessel fleet by 2030 when it expects alternative fuel use to reach 55%. UECC is investigating e-methane produced using renewable electricity and electrolysis that is targeted to meet 10% of its gas demand in 2025, with this fuel among renewable fuels of non-biological origin that are incentivised under FuelEU.
The company is pushing for alternative fuel adoption and procurement of supplies as it also plans further eco-friendly fleet expansion, with orders for two multi-fuel battery hybrid newbuild PCTCs due for delivery in 2028 and options for two similar vessels.
Edvardsen concluded: “We are well on the way towards achieving our ambition of phasing out the use of fossil oils in our fleet and achieving net-zero by 2040.”
Image: UECC says it is on track to phase out fossil fuel use (source: UECC)
