Portuguese biodiesel producer provides B30 marine biofuel to cruise ships
Portuguese biodiesel producer Prio announced Feb. 9 a new partnership with World Fuel Services to provide marine biofuel to Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd.
The marine biofuel provided by Prio, called Eco Bunkers B30, is a 30 percent blend of biodiesel from waste feedstocks produced at Prio’s manufacturing facility and blended at its tank terminal in Aveiro, Portugal.
“The flexibility of this blending process makes it possible to scale production according to demand and adjust the percentage of biodiesel mixtures—up to a 100 percent renewable product, which allows up to 86 percent greenhouse-gas reduction—according to the needs of customers and [their] sustainability objectives,” Prio stated.
With the support of World Fuel Services, two Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings cruises were supplied late last year with a total of 400 tons of the B30 marine biofuel supplied and produced by Prio.
The first cruise, the Norwegian Star, took advantage of a stopover in Lisbon, Portugal, in late November, where it took on 200 tons of Eco Bunkers B30.
The following week, in early December, another ship in the fleet—the Norwegian Epic—followed with another 200 tons of Eco Bunkers B30.
In total, Prio Eco Bunkers B30 marine biofuel allowed the Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings fleet to reduce CO2 emissions by around 30 percent, with approximately 440 tons of CO2 avoided, after these stopovers at the Lisbon Cruise Terminal.
“Advanced biofuels, produced from residual raw materials, that is, the result of the circular economy, are the solution of the present and that allow us to immediately face to the growing needs of our customers,” said Luis Nunes, a member of Prio’s executive committee. “They are drop-in solutions, [meaning] they did not require any modifications to the engine or tank of the Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings cruise ships and, therefore, allowed an immediate impact without any need for additional investment in these ships.”
He added, “We are going through a crucial moment in the world’s response to climate and biodiversity emergencies, so Prio believes that we can already accelerate the energy transition if we increase the contribution of advanced biofuels in the maritime sector.”
Prio first launched Eco Bunkers as a B15 blend and then bumped up the biodiesel content to B20, which it supplies to the Port of Leixões fleet.
The company provides its Eco Bunkers B30 marine biofuel at any Portuguese port, and Prio said it hopes to extend the offer to other European ports as well.
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