Cargill Inc seeks to boost its use of biofuels in a bunkering trial and plans to order methanol-fuelled ships as part of its plans to cut emissions, a senior executive of the global commodities trader said on Wednesday.

One of the world’s biggest ship charterers, Cargill has been testing the operational performance of biofuels in its vessels since the start of the year as it steps up efforts to go green.

The trial aims to boost vessels’ use of biofuels to 50,000 tonnes by mid- or end-2023, up from 12,000 tonnes since January, the firm’s marine fuels lead, Olivier Josse, said at a conference in Singapore

“We are going to bring some Fatty Acid Methyl Ester (FAME) and do some blending in the fourth quarter in Singapore,” he said, referring to the bio-content blended with fossil diesel fuel to make biodiesel.

The move to blend FAME in Singapore aims to try to understand the demand and appetite of customers for biofuels as a bunkering fuel, Josse added at the event, the Singapore International Bunkering Conference and Exhibition (SIBCON) 2022.

Cargill is also testing and piloting the use of methanol as shipping fuel, he said. “We are bidding for a dual-fuel methanol vessel that will be delivered within the next few years.”

Global shipping accounts for almost 3% of the world’s CO2 emissions, as around 90% of global trade takes place at sea.

Last year, Cargill said it has reduced total carbon emissions from its fleet by about 1.5 million tons since 2017.

We have also worked with our tech partners to add sails to some ships. This allows her to reduce her CO2 emissions by up to 30% using wind power.

Josse added that Cargill’s first wind farm is due to be delivered in early 2023, and he believes methanol, ammonia and biofuels will be a mixture of alternative fuels in the future.

“Hopefully wind power will become a bigger part of our fuel mix,” he added.

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Source: Reuters