Repsol, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings sign long-term agreement to supply renewable fuels in Barcelona
- Repsol
- 14 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Repsol announced Oct. 20 that it has signed a landmark eight-year agreement with Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings to supply renewable marine fuels at the Port of Barcelona in Spain, establishing an unprecedented long-term relationship within the cruise industry.
Beginning in the 2026 European cruise season, Repsol will offer a portfolio of renewable fuels starting with biofuels and, from 2029, renewable methanol directly to NCLH’s vessels across its cruise brands—Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises—when calling at the Port of Barcelona.
“This milestone agreement highlights that renewable fuels are ready to play a key role in reducing the carbon footprint of the maritime sector,” said Juan Abascal, Repsol’s executive managing director of industrial transformation and circular economy. “By partnering with NCLH, one of the world’s leading cruise companies, we show that renewable fuels are already deployable at scale to immediately start reducing emissions at sea.”
Harry Sommer, president and CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, added, “This partnership is an excellent example of how cross-industry collaboration can unlock meaningful progress. Securing long-term access to renewable marine fuels at a key European port aligns directly with our ‘Sail & Sustain’ program and demonstrates our commitment to advancing towards a more sustainable future.”
The agreement between Repsol and NCLH was established based on the changing international regulatory environment and both companies’ pursuit of net zero by 2050.
All fuels provided under the agreement are certified under the ISCC EU framework and meet the standards necessary to support NCLH’s environmental compliance and decarbonization roadmap.
The renewable methanol will be produced at Repsol’s Ecoplanta facility in Tarragona, Spain—a pioneering project in Europe to transform urban waste into renewable fuels and circular products, adding a solution for reducing CO2 emissions in the transport sector while promoting the circular economy.
The new plant—set to begin operations in 2029—will have the capacity to process up to 400,000 tons of municipal solid waste per year and turn this into 240,000 tons of renewable fuels and circular products.
NCLH is the first company to sign an offtake agreement for renewable methanol from the Ecoplanta facility.
This alliance underscores NCLH’s commitment to advancing low-carbon fuel solutions and supporting the circular economy, while maintaining operational flexibility and cost efficiency across its fleet.
The partnership directly supports the company’s global program, “Sail & Sustain,” a company-wide initiative focused on reducing greenhouse-gas (GHG) intensity, investing in innovative fuel solutions and fostering collaboration across the value chain.
As part of its 2026 “Charting the Course” targets, the company is working to achieve a 10 percent reduction in GHG intensity by 2026 and 25 percent by 2030.
Renewable fuels are central to Repsol’s strategy to supply solutions to cut CO2 emissions across all transport sectors.
They are already an available alternative for decarbonizing current and future vehicles without the need to change engines or modify existing distribution and refueling infrastructures.
In Cartagena, Spain, the company operates the Iberian Peninsula’s first renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) plant, scaled at 250,000 tons per year, and it is building a second plant in Puertollano scaled at 200,000 tons per year, due in 2026.
Next year, it will also start operations at its synthetic fuels demo plant in Bilbao.
The company supplies renewable diesel at over 1,300 service stations in Spain and Portugal, aiming for 1,500 by the end of this year, making it one of the largest 100 percent renewable fuel networks in Europe.
Repsol said it is also the Iberian Peninsula’s leading supplier of SAF, supporting aviation decarbonization and compliance with the EU’s 2 percent mandate.
