Shipping companies, retailers look to develop cleaner marine biofuel

By Jonathan Saul

LONDON, Oct 29 (Reuters) - Top shipping, retail and
transport companies are looking to develop an alternative marine
fuel which aims to reduce carbon emissions from ships, in
another step to push the sector to go green.

International shipping accounts for 2.2% of global carbon
dioxide emissions, according to the International Maritime
Organization (IMO), more than aviation's 2% share.

The IMO, a United Nations agency, has said it aims to halve
greenhouse gas emissions from 2008 levels by 2050.

Investor and activist pressure is prompting companies to
look to speed up reducing the industry's carbon footprint.

Denmark's A.P. Moller-Maersk, which owns the
world's no. 1 container shipping line, has joined with Norwegian
vehicle shipping group Wallenius Wilhelmsen, Swedish
fashion retailer H&M, British retailer Marks & Spencer
, denim apparel maker Levi Strauss & Co and
carmaker BMW to look into testing an alternative fuel
called LEO, which is a blend of lignin and ethanol.

Lignin, a low-value waste product from ethanol production
typically burned for industrial power, can be dissolved in
ethanol to create LEO.

John Kornerup, Maersk's chief adviser for climate change,
said LEO would enable the use of the inexpensive energy
contained in the lignin waste product to produce a lower-cost,
carbon-neutral fuel that can be burned on large marine engines.

"As such it has the potential to become a viable solution,"
he told Reuters on Tuesday.

Copenhagen University is engaged in laboratory work on the
fuel before the project moves to a test phase on small
stationary engines in the second quarter of 2020.

Kornerup said depending on the success of further testing
phases and on actual ships, the project could become operational
in a couple of years. He declined to comment on how much would
be invested in the initiative.

"Regardless the final outcome, this project will
significantly contribute to the overall understanding of the
issues and the potential solutions to shipping's decarbonization
challenge," he said.

Lina Ödeen, sustainability manager with H&M Group's global
logistics, said it sourced the majority of its transport needs
by sea to their warehouses.

"We believe we have to move towards other alternatives, such
as biofuel, which is what is being developed under the LEO
coalition," Ödeen told Reuters.

Shipping companies are exploring solutions ranging from
using high quality paint to working on infrastructure to enable
zero carbon ships to be on the water by 2030, which is seen as
the latest time to be ready for 2050 given that ships have a
lifespan of up to 25 years.
(Editing by David Evans)