November 24th, 2020 (Dubai/Fujairah) – Uniper Energy DMCC (UED) and Neutral Fuels have announced 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 (IMO) standard under their ISO8217:2010 RMG380 specification, thereby cutting emissions of carbon dioxide. Limiting sulfur in shipping fuels to 0.5% 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.
Lars Liebig, Managing Director of UED, said, “The collaboration is aimed to address climate protection, the predominant social issue in the world today. 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,” continued Liebig. “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 decarbonisation.
Gary Hubbard, Chief Commercial Officer of Neutral Fuels said, “It is fitting for the UAE to lead the way in making maritime biofuel widely available to the shipping industry. 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 GCC. Hubbard said, “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. 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.
For further information on UED, please contact:
Annette Montegiove, Gulf Intelligence
E: annettemontegiove@gulfintelligence.com
or
For further information on Neutral Fuels, please contact:
| Gary Hubbard, Neutral Fuels +971 50 384 2831 (UAE) gary@neutralfuels.com |
ABOUT UNIPER ENERGY DMCC
Uniper Energy DMCC (UED) is part of the international energy company Uniper SE, and is an important vehicle in Uniper’s international efforts to help countries build up reliable and environmentally friendly energy supplies to support the global energy transition. UAE-based – with offices in Dubai since 2015 – it owns and operates two crude processing units strategically located at the Port of Fujairah, the world’s third largest bunkering hub.
Uniper Energy’s crude units annually produce more than 3 million tons of Ultra Low Sulfur Fuel Oil (ULSFO) for the marine market. These cleaner fuels make a significant contribution to enhancing air quality, playing a crucial role in exceeding the International Maritime Organization (IMO) targets to limit sulfur in ships fuels to 0.5%, from 3.5%, as from 1 January 2020. Uniper Energy DMCC supplies over 4 million tons of very low sulfur fuels (0.5% VLSFO) globally from their storage located in Fujairah and Singapore – two of world’s largest bunkering hubs.
ABOUT NEUTRAL FUELS
Neutral Fuels is the winner of the 2020 ADIPEC Company of the Year Award in ‘the Solutions to Climate Change’ category. For almost a decade, the company has pioneered net zero biofuel in the UAE, the clean, green renewable fuel which immediately reduces transport carbon emissions to zero, enabling organizations to stop contributing to climate change. The company’s fuels are surrounded by bespoke technology including an embedded AI engine, handheld apps, and IoT sensors, enabling customers to reduce costs and improve efficiency. ]
Today, Neutral Fuels is the largest producer of biofuel in the Gulf region. Headquartered in Dubai, the company operates from recycling facilities in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, and Delhi serving customers such as McDonald’s, Nestlé, DSV, Del Monte, Emirates Airline, ENOC, ADNOC, and many others. Neutral Fuels was the first company to achieve ESMA certification (UAE.S 5023:2018) and its fuels are compliant with the European Standards EN 14214 and the American Standards ASTM D6751.
