Heineken transports beer from Zoeterwoude to Rotterdam on biofuel

Sustainable biofuel pioneer GoodFuels and partner Reinplus Fiwado Bunker have fueled the For Ever, the first inland vessel from Combined Cargo Terminals that runs fully on 100 percent sustainable biofuel. With this, delivery feasibility of using 100 percent sustainable biofuels in inland vessels is demonstrated, thereby realizing a significant carbon dioxide (CO2) reduction.

GoodFuels, Reinplus Fiwado Bunker and CCT are demonstrating that the CO2 emissions of inland shipping can be reduced without any modifications to the ship or engine. Compared to fossil fuel there is a CO2 reduction of up to 90 percent. The local emission of CO2, NOx and particulate matter will be measured along the way. The demonstration consists of 50 percent blends and 100 percent sustainable biofuel deliveries. It is a continuation of an earlier successful pilot with Heineken in which a 30 percent blend was used.

“This 100 percent applicability demonstrates that drop-in marine biofuels are by far the easiest and fastest way of decarbonizing inland vessels—and will significantly help in boosting air quality as well,” said Dirk Kronemeijer, CEO of GoodFuels. “Great news also for cargo owners such as Heineken who now have the option to execute a full coast-to-coast green corridor from its Zoeterwoude brewery to major export markets such as the U.S.”

This extensive demonstration is possible thanks to the financial support of the temporary incentive scheme, “Clean inland shipping and sustainable logistics in Rotterdam,” and is again supported by EICB (Expertise and Innovation Centre Inland shipping) in cooperation with the Port of Rotterdam, which also has its own fleet running on sustainable biofuels.

In this case, GoodFuels delivers an advanced renewable marine biofuel made from sustainable and certified waste streams. It is a fossil-free, high-quality, synthetic biofuel, and an easy-to-use drop-in replacement for fossil fuel. This second-generation biofuel thwarts bacterial growth and can be used directly in the diesel engines without modifications to the ship or the tank infrastructure. CCT demonstrates that there are no extra investments needed to run the engine on biofuel, which contributes directly to the reduction of CO2 emissions. Last week GoodFuels, in order of the GoodShipping Program, announced deliveries of biofuel oil to CMA-CGM on behalf of IKEA.

CCT is using alternative fuels as part of its carbon footprint reduction goals. This demonstration is part of the Green Corridor, which is an intensive cooperation in an open-partner network to realize sustainable transport routes, originated by Heineken, CCT, the province of Zuid-Holland, Wageningen Environmental Research and Port of Rotterdam.

Today more than 30 partners work on the shared ambition of making the transport routes between Zoeterwoude and the Port of Rotterdam climate neutral, clean, efficient, economically sustainable and fitting the environment. CCT offers sustainable transport solutions to its customers like Heineken, which is shipping its beer on the inland vessel For Ever from the Heineken brewery in Zoeterwoude to the deep-sea terminals in the Port of Rotterdam.

Bert van Grieken, CCT’s multimodal director, said, “With this shared initiative we again take that extra step to achieve the climate ambitions. This underlines our commitment to offer our customers sustainable logistics solutions.”