Circularise partners with GoodFuels on digital-traceability solution for marine biofuel supply chain

A GoodFuels employee on the deck of a GoodFuels dedicated biofuel-bunker barge during a delivery of marine biofuel (Photo: GoodFuels)

Circularise and GoodFuels, FincoEnergies’ sustainable-fuels brand, announced Oct. 24 their project to digitize the biofuels record-management process required for compliance with Europe’s Renewable Energy Directive.

Throughout this innovative project, FincoEnergies shared its knowledge on bookkeeping processes with Circularise to expand its MassBalancer traceability-software suite to include the biofuels supply chain, adding certification by the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification System (ISCC EU) as an additional supported framework.

The European Union’s RED II regulation aims to ensure that biofuels provide a truly sustainable alternative to fossil fuels.

“As part of this regulation, records must be maintained for the sourcing, chain of custody, and greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions of the biofuel product process and then verified by a third-party certification scheme such as ISCC EU,” GoodFuels stated. “This process of bookkeeping is currently a manual process of companies exchanging information from PDFs and spreadsheets, which can be costly and time-consuming.”

Adding a digital method of record management will increase information security and ease-of-use for any organization that needs to report their biofuels feedstock and supply chains, GoodFuels noted.

By digitizing the record-keeping process, information on the chain of custody and GHG emissions of the biofuel products can be efficiently audited, supporting a trustworthy and fair marine biofuels industry.

“Transparency and trust are critical to the supply chains of all marine fuels, but especially biofuels, where we must be able to demonstrate our sustainability claims easily and with confidence,” said Paul Bakker, digital development manager at FincoEnergies. “Through our GoodFuels brand, we are dedicated to leading sustainability within the biofuels market, which is why we are pleased to be able to support Circularise to improve the digital-reporting process."

Jordi de Vos, co-founder of Circularise, added, “By leveraging digital technologies to trace the chain of custody and impact of the biofuels, we can shed light on opaque supply chains and guarantee that these fuels serve as a truly sustainable alternative to fossil fuels. Our partnership with GoodFuels is a testament to our shared commitment to drive transparency and sustainability in the energy sector.”

Going forward, FincoEnergies will test this software with its GoodFuels customers to ensure a robust information-transfer process.

By shifting from manual methods to software grounded in RED II principles, Circularise will assist FincoEnergies in ensuring the prevention of double counting of biofuel credits, further enhancing trust and transparency throughout the value chain.

This collaboration will continue to explore ways for FincoEnergies to enable its downstream customers to fairly allocate the use of GoodFuels biofuels within their sustainability reporting.

“This commitment to fair and transparent practices underscores the shared vision of both FincoEnergies and Circularise for a more sustainable future,” the companies stated.