Volkswagen Opts for Sustainable Biofuel for its European Car Carriers

Volkswagen has partnered with biofuels bunker supplier GoodFuels to run sustainable biofuel in two chartered RoRos in order to reduce carbon emissions in the car carrier segment.

GoodFuels will provide Volkswagen with its advanced Bio-Fuel Oil (MR1-100 or BFO) at Vlissingen, the Netherlands. Kicking off the partnership, the roll-on/roll-off vehicle carrier Patara has now bunkered with the biofuel.

According to GoodFuels, sustainable biofuel can reduce carbon emissions by a minimum of 85% “well-to-wake” for Volkswagen Group’s shipments. Sulfur oxide emissions, meanwhile, are reduced to zero.

GoodFuels’ BFO is sustainably sourced from various certified feedstocks labelled as waste or residue, such as used oil from restaurants and the food industry. The BFO “drops in” to normal fuel tanks, meaning no hardware changes are needed to run the fuel.

For its European vehicle shipments, Volkswagen Group Logistics continuously charters two vessels which carry up to 3,500 vehicles each on a route from Emden via Dublin, Ireland, Santander, Spain and Setubal, Portugal. Volkswagen says the ships complete the route about 50 times per year, corresponding to about 250,000 vehicles transported per year.

The two 180-meter-long ships are powered by an MAN marine diesel with more than 19,000 PS (14,220 kW). Going forward, the two ships will be refueled at sea off the coast of Vlissingen, Netherlands with GoodFuels’ BFO. The subsequent CO₂ emissions savings from the use of the fuel will amount to 60,000 to about 9,000 tonnes per year, according to Volkswagen

“We are extremely proud that a global brand like Volkswagen Group Logistics has sustainable shipping at the forefront of its operations, and is supporting our mission as an impact company to accelerate the energy transition in heavy transport,” said Isabel Welten, Chief Commercial Officer at GoodFuels.

“By partnering with Volkswagen Group Logistics, we are showcasing that sustainable biofuels are a scalable, truly sustainable, technically compliant, affordable, and market-ready solution. The coming years are going to be momentous in terms of our decarbonisation journey, so we want to continue working with the market leaders to help make a real difference,” Welten said.

GoodFuels says the partnership with Volkswagen will help the company scale up the usage of marine biofuel as an alternative to fossil fuels within the ro-ro segment.

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