Tracking biofuel standards

A successful pilot of the new tracer has been conducted during a recent delivery of 500 tonnes of biofuel to the Norden-owned tanker Nord Gardenia.

“Being able to undisputedly trace that our fuels are sustainable and uniquely assignable to one of our clients is intrinsic to what we do at GoodFuels,” said Dirk Kronemeijer, CEO of GoodFuels.

“Using a physical marker that combines with software is the likely next step in this trend. We are focused on driving even greater trust and transparency in the marine fuels supply chain – two values that are inherent to GoodFuels and GoodShipping.”

Sustainable fuels

The partnership, which commenced in early 2022, has seen the companies collaborate to create the new tracer, which can be added to marine fuels as a unique ‘fingerprint’ and verification tool.

This tracer stays within the fuel throughout the entire downstream of fuel delivery. It then can be tracked and traced by inspectors to verify that a fuel product has not been diluted or tampered at any stage in the supply chain.

It does this without adversely impact the physical properties, quality and stability of the biofuel and without any impact on bunker operations.

The pilot also showed that the isotopic tracer can successfully measure for fuel dilution, when biofuels are used in a blend, for example and it can ensure that fuel doesn’t originate from banned countries.

It can also be used to support carbon calculations and provide evidence for carbon pricing and tax reductions, giving shipowners and operators assurance on the amount and quality of biofuel they are deploying in their pursuit of sustainable shipping.