Uniper Energy Dubai, Neutral Fuels join forces to deliver maritime biofuel in Fujairah, UAE

Uniper Energy DMCC (UED) and Neutral Fuels announced Nov. 24 that they will collaborate to provide maritime biofuel in Fujairah, UAE. Both leaders in their fields, UED supplies very low sulfur fuel oil (VLSFO), and Neutral Fuels, winner of the ADIPEC 2020 Company of the Year Award in the Solutions to Climate Change category, pioneered the commercial viability of net-zero biofuels to replace fossil fuels.

The two companies will blend UED's VLSFO and Neutral Fuels' biofuel, creating a maritime fuel that meets the International Maritime Organization standard under their ISO8217:2010 RMG380 specification, thereby cutting emissions of carbon dioxide. Limiting sulfur in shipping fuels to 0.5 percent as mandated by the IMO reduces a significant source of atmospheric pollution, while cutting carbon emissions enables the maritime industry to become part of the solution to climate change rather than remaining part of the problem.

"The collaboration is aimed to address climate protection, the predominant social issue in the world today," said Lars Liebig, UED managing director. "UED's mission is to help countries build up reliable and environmentally friendly energy supplies to support a global transition to cleaner energy. Collaborating with Neutral Fuels enables us to accelerate our efforts. UED is already supplying up to 500,000 tons of VLSFO per month from its processing plant in the Port of Fujairah, the world's third-largest bunkering hub. We will leverage our logistics infrastructure and global customer base, which stretches from the Middle East over South/East Africa, and up to India, Singapore and China. The fuel will be available for large tankers and containers, and for smaller short sea and feeder vessels."

For Fujairah terminals that are not currently connected to the grid, biofuel can also be used instead of fossil fuel in diesel generators, producing clean, green electricity and contributing to decarbonization.

"It is fitting for the UAE to lead the way in making maritime biofuel widely available to the shipping industry," said Gary Hubbard, chief commercial officer of Neutral Fuels. "The UAE was quick to adopt the UN's sustainable development goals and has been particularly active in working to cut emissions of CO2. This is the main culprit that creates the greenhouse gases which cause climate change."

Neutral Fuels has been manufacturing and supplying biofuel for 10 years across the Gulf Cooperation Council. "We started with large vehicle fleets like the McDonald's logistics operation and grew into the construction industry, working with clients such as Expo 2020," Hubbard said. "In February this year, a month after the new IMO regulations came into place, we started supplying maritime biofuel and have proven its benefits across all operational, financial and environmental parameters. Partnering with UED now is the natural next step for us."

Switching to the new clean, green maritime fuel requires no capital outlay, no change to existing engines and no investment in aftermarket scrubbers for shipowners and their cargo-owning clients. Neutral Fuels biofuels are made exclusively from used vegetable cooking oil and have no land-use issues, they are not in competition with food production, and do not cause or support deforestation.