Hamburg Fleet on course for climate neutrality with innovative fuels
- Port of Hamburg
- Jul 28, 2025
- 2 min read
The Port of Hamburg in Germany announced July 24 that Hamburg Fleet is trialing the use of 100 percent hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), also known as renewable diesel.
With its consistent environmental strategy, Hamburg Fleet has established itself as a driver of innovation, piloting and implementing solutions for low-emission shipping in Hamburg.
The primary focus lies on electrifying the city’s fleet of vessels.
Not all vessels, however, can be electrified with current technology.
To continue pursuing its zero-emissions strategy even with its existing fleet, Hamburg Fleet is trialing the use of HVO100 produced by Shell in cooperation with its longstanding supplier Friedrich G. Frommann GmbH & Co. KG on three of its vessels.
The HVO100 used by Hamburg Fleet is made from food waste and is entirely free of palm oil.
It meets the sustainability criteria set out in the EU’s RED II directive.
The declared emissions intensity of this fuel suggests a reduction in greenhouse gases of at least 80 percent.
If the trials prove successful, the fuel could be rolled out across the entire Hamburg Fleet.
The organization has already taken a pioneering role with the use of the low-emission gas-to-liquid (GTL) synthetic fuel.
The Hafenkapitän will be the first nonelectric vessel to operate in an almost CO2-neutral manner.
Other vessels taking part in the trial include the survey and sounding vessel Deepenschriewer III and the transport and inspection vessel Neßsand.
“While Hamburg Fleet remains focused on electrification and innovative propulsion systems, we will only achieve our ambitious greenhouse-gas reduction targets by complementing these efforts with innovative fuels such as HVO100,” said Karsten Schönewald, Hamburg Fleet’s managing director.
“For inland vessels, HVO100 currently represents the most pragmatic interim solution,” Schönewald said. “We are proud to help establish HVO100 as a fuel in Hamburg and to be one of the pioneers in the Port of Hamburg.”
