Swedish tanker owner Furetank has announced it will run its European fleet on renewable biogas throughout 2025, marking a major step towards fossil-free shipping.
The company has signed a large-scale agreement with commodities trader Cargill and fuel supplier Titan Clean Fuels to secure sufficient volumes of mass-balanced liquefied biomethane (LBM) for all its wholly and partly owned gas-fuelled vessels.
The move is enabled by the EU’s FuelEU Maritime regulation, which came into force in January. The legislation allows certified biogas to be injected into one end of the European gas grid and withdrawn at the other – similar to the system already used for green electricity – removing a key barrier to large-scale adoption.
“This was our target when we converted our first vessel to gas propulsion in 2015. It is remarkable that we have finally reached the point we have worked for and talked about for so long,” said Viktoria Höglund, Sustainability Strategist at Furetank.
The use of biomethane delivers a 150–200 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions on a well-to-wake basis. This is because biogas derived from waste, such as manure, prevents methane emissions during decomposition while displacing fossil fuels in vessel operations. Residues are also returned to farmland as fertiliser, avoiding emissions from synthetic alternatives.
Willem Olde Kalter, Biogas and FuelEU lead at Cargill, described the deal as a “breakthrough for renewable fuels in shipping”, while Lana Sissing of Titan Clean Fuels said demand for bio-LNG was “accelerating quickly and will only keep increasing”.
To eliminate the final fossil components, Furetank is testing HVO100 renewable diesel as pilot fuel and using shore power for cargo pumps where available. The company said this demonstrates the EU’s 2050 decarbonisation goals are “within immediate reach”.
Furetank switches EU fleet to renewable biogas under landmark deal
