Interest in UECC’s bio-LNG initiative beats expectations

News 9 Sep 2024 by WCN Editorial

Three major car manufacturers have joined UECC’s Sail for Change programme to cut emissions by using bio-LNG for cargo transport across Europe.

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Interest in UECC's bio-LNG initiative beats expectations — MV Auto Aspire; UECC’s LNG battery hybrid powered PCTC © UECC

United European Car Carriers (UECC) has revealed that three car manufacturers, Toyota Motor Europe, Ford of Europe, and another unnamed “major European vehicle manufacturer” have joined the company’s Sail for Change sustainability programme. The decarbonisation programme launched its first major initiative, “Green Gas Month,” in July 2024, under which the company plans to deploy liquefied biomethane (bio-LNG) on all five of its LNG dual-fuel car carriers.

According to UECC, the three car manufacturers will be using bio-LNG for cargo transport across Europe and are expected to cut their emissions by a combined 80,000 tonnes, or over one-third of its global Scope 1 emissions from ship operations of approximately 220,000 tonnes. The bunkering of the ISCC-EU certified bio-LNG will take place at the Port of Zeebrugge, in collaboration with Titan Clean Fuels.

“We are thrilled that three of our major clients have decided to participate in Sail for Change, which demonstrates the power of industry collaboration in advancing decarbonisation. Those willing to invest in sustainable transport now will ultimately reap the rewards as new regulations give a commercial impetus for green operations,” says UECC CEO Glenn Edvardsen.

As well as boosting their environmental performance with lower Scope 3 emissions, all three vehicle manufacturers will be able to significantly reduce their costs exposure to the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS), while boosting uptake of alternative low-carbon fuels in line with FuelEU Maritime set to take effect next year, as explained by UECC’s Energy & Sustainability Manager Daniel Gent.

Growing interest in the initiative

According to Gent, the interest in the programme has exceeded UECC’s expectations, resulting in the Green Gas Month initiative being extended beyond July to subsequent months and years. The company is now looking to scale up the programme to allow more companies to participate in the future based on growing demand.

“Our customers have ambitious decarbonisation targets and see that using alternative fuels can cut a significant swath of emissions from maritime transport. There is now also a regulatory payback from using a decarbonisation service. Given it will be more economical to use sustainable fuels at some point in the future, customers are keen to secure supplies now,” Gent explains.

Jean Christophe Deville, Vice President of Supply Chain at Toyota Motor Europe, says: “Enhancing the sustainability of our logistics is an important step towards our goal to become carbon neutral in Europe by 2040, and globally by 2050. UECC’s Sail for Change programme therefore represents a great opportunity to help us realise this ambition.”

Due to its investments in biofuels and LNG-fuelled ships, UECC is on track to exceed FuelEU standards until the late 2030s, aiming for net-zero operations by 2040. In October 2022, UECC received the third and final multi-fuel LNG battery hybrid pure car and truck carrier (PCTC) in its newbuild series. These three ships joined two LNG-fuelled PCTCs that were built in 2016. In addition, last year UECC more than doubled the use of biofuel across its fleet paving the way for the company to surpass its goal of a 45% emissions reduction by 2030.

“Sustainability has always been at the core of our business strategy and we will continue to lead the way in adoption of new alternative fuels in alignment with the green operating regime for the benefit of the environment, our clients and stakeholders,” UECC’s CEO Edvardsen concluded.

UECC operates a fleet of 16 medium-sized PCTCs with loading capacity ranging from 1,060 to 4,750 car equivalent units.