Cepsa starts offering B24 biofuel blend at Port of Barcelona

Cepsa bunkered a container ship operated by German shipping company Hapag Lloyd with B24 blend for its biofuel debut in Barcelona.

PHOTO: Bunkering of Hapad Lloyd's vessel at the Port of Barcelona. Cepsa

Cepsa had confirmed to ENGINE in August that the company would start supplying second-generation (2G) biofuel in the Port of Barcelona as soon as possible.

The B24 blend contains 24% biofuel components derived from used cooking oils. It is then blended into HSFO, VLSFO and MGO, depending on buyers’ needs and preferences. This is estimated to reduce at least 2,860 mt of CO2 emissions, Cepsa claimed.

2G biofuels offer an “immediate” alternative to conventional fuels for reducing shipping emissions, Cepsa’s director of marine fuel solutions, Samir Fernández said. This is because they can be used in vessels without modifying the engines.

In addition, they have the potential to reduce CO2 emissions by up to 90% compared to conventional fuels, Fernández explained. The emissions reduction, however, depends on the biofuel-fossil fuel blend ratio used in the vessels.

Cepsa will now be able to offer biofuel by barge in Barcelona and nearby ports along the Strait of Gibraltar, as well as 60 other Spanish ports by tanker, the company added.

By Konica Bhatt

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