Finnish refiner Neste has supplied nearly 90,000 litres of renewable diesel to the French Tara Ocean Foundation’s Tara Polar Station ahead of its first 18-month drift expedition across the Central Arctic Ocean, according to Neste.
The French-flagged, 26-metre research platform bunkered the fuel on 23 July at the OK Slurink marine bunker station in Dordrecht, the Netherlands. It is expected to spend about 90% of the mission locked in sea ice, with no opportunity to refuel.
About 90% of the Neste MY Renewable Diesel will power generators and heating systems alongside wind and solar energy, with the balance used for propulsion. The HVO fuel can be used in existing diesel engines and infrastructure and remains operational at temperatures down to minus 32C.
Fuel supplied in the EU meets Renewable Energy Directive sustainability criteria, including a minimum 50% reduction in lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions compared with fossil diesel.
“This is the first time our fuel is contributing to a scientific expedition to the Arctic Ocean,” said Carl Nyberg, senior vice-president for commercial operations in Neste’s Renewable Products business.
Tara Polar Station left Lorient, France, on 19 July and continued towards Norway after bunkering. Calls at Tromsø and Kirkenes are planned to embark personnel and equipment before the station enters the Arctic in mid-August.
The platform is expected to travel with the Chinese scientific icebreaker *Xue Long* and become trapped in the ice near 82 degrees north and 140 degrees east in early September. Its six laboratories will monitor the atmosphere, sea ice, water column and Arctic biodiversity.
Tara Polaris I brings together more than 30 research institutions from 12 countries and starts a planned series of 10 Arctic expeditions running through 2046.
Neste is a Finnish renewable-fuels and refining company that operates the Porvoo oil refinery and produces renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel on three continents. Its renewable-products capacity is expected to reach 6.8m tonnes per year in 2027.
Tara Ocean Foundation is a French foundation conducting ocean and Arctic research.