United European Car Carriers (UECC) has secured a major bunkering deal with Titan Clean Fuels to source liquefied biomethane that will enable the company to reduce its GHG emissions by over 75,000 tons in 2025 - or around one-third of its annual direct emissions from vessel operations, according to the company's release.
Titan will provide ISCC-EU certified mass balanced liquefied biomethane (LBM), or bioLNG, for bunkering at the Port of Zeebrugge to fuel UECC’s five dual-fuel LNG Pure Car and Truck Carriers (PCTC) operating in the European shortsea trade under the supply contract covering the rest of this year and 2025 when a minimum of 12,000 tons of LBM will be supplied.
UECC is expanding its collaboration with Titan following the launch with the Dutch clean fuel supplier earlier this year of the ‘Sail for Change’ sustainability initiative in which four major European vehicle manufacturers - including Toyota and Ford - have now signed up to use UECC vessels fueled by low-carbon LBM.
The company estimates the use of LBM will eliminate another 75,000 tons of its global Scope 1 well-to-wake emissions from ship operations of approximately 220,000 tonnes per year. This follows a 250% year-on-year reduction in tank-to-wake emissions of 60,000 tonnes last year, driven largely by increased use of biofuels, as well as LNG.
LBM meeting key fuel criteria UECC’s Energy & Sustainability Manager Daniel Gent says the company is ramping up its use of LBM due to the attractive emissions factor of the fuel - with potential for net-zero emissions or even net-negative if avoided emissions of waste are taken into account - and increasing availability at scale.
The company aims to achieve 20% use of LBM, as well as 17% use of biofuels and 20% use of LNG, across its current 15-vessel fleet by 2030 when it expects alternative fuel use to reach 55%. UECC is also investigating e-methane produced using renewable electricity and electrolysis that is targeted to meet 10% of its gas demand in 2025, with this fuel among renewable fuels of non-biological origin that are incentivized under FuelEU. The company is pushing for alternative fuel adoption and procurement of supplies as it also plans further eco-friendly fleet expansion, with orders for two multi-fuel battery hybrid newbuild PCTCs due for delivery in 2028 and options for two similar vessels.