Biofuel Project to Produce Sulphur-free Marine Fuel from Wood

A public-private partnership signed in Denmark seeks to develop a biofuel plant that will produce sulphur-free, drop-in marine fuel from wood feedstock.

The Denmark-based Port of Frederikshavn and Aalborg University and the Canadian biofuel company Steeper Energy have announced the new partnership. The project is in the early planning stage. The plan includes sourcing the wood feedstock from Russia, the Baltic nations, Sweden, Finland or Canada in order to produce between 50,000 and 100,000 tons of fuel per year. Aalborg University will carry out long-term research efforts on incorporating locally available feedstocks, such as short rotation coppice, manure and straw.

The planned production plant to be located at the Port of Frederikshavn will help meet demand for sulphur-free marine fuels created by a directive that seeks to reduce the permissible sulphur content of marine fuel to zero by January 1, 2015.

Steeper Energy and Aalborg University have been developing a hydrothermal liquefaction facility in Denmark, which could provide an efficient technology for utilizing limited global biomass resource in bioenergy development.