Portugal’s biofuel producer PRIO partnered with NCL-Norwegian Cruise Line to complete the first test with advanced biofuels produced/supplied in Portugal.
As part of the new partnership with the NCL, PRIO carried out the first supply in the country with ECO Bunkers B30, which is a fuel with a higher percentage of biofuel incorporation, thus expected to achieve a greater reduction in CO2 emissions.
The new fuel (ECO Bunkers B30) is a 30% blend of advanced biofuel from waste feedstocks, produced at PRIO's biodiesel plant and blended at a tank terminal in Aveiro.
The blending process' flexibility makes it possible to scale production according to demand as well as adjust the percentage of Biodiesel mixtures (up to a 100% renewable product, allowing up to 86% GHG reduction), the company revealed.
Launched by PRIO at the company's Biofuel Factory in Aveiro, ECO Bunkers B15 was the first highly innovative solution, developed from waste raw material recycling processes, allowing for a reduction of up to 18% in emissions of CO2 along with reductions in consumption, as evidenced by projects carried out with port communities in Aveiro region.
With World Fuel Services' support, on November 27th and December 7th, 2022, a pair of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings voyages were supplied with 400 tons of B30 (70% ULSD diesel/30% biofuel) supplied/produced by PRIO.
Norwegian Star was the first cruise ship to take advantage of a stopover in Lisbon Portugal, to supply 200 tons of ECO Bunkers B30. The following week, another NCL vessel - Norwegian Epic, was fueled with 200 tons of ECO Bunkers B30.
PRIO ECO Bunkers B30 fuel enabled the shipowner NCLH-Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings' fleet to reduce CO2 emissions by ~30%, i.e. 440 tons of CO2 avoided, after the stopovers at the Cruise Terminal from Lisbon, the fuel supplier announced.
According to Luis Nunes, member of the Executive Committee of PRIO, advanced biofuels, produced from residual raw materials, the result of the circular economy, were the solution of the present, and that allowed them to immediately face the growing needs of their customers.
"They are “drop-in” solutions, that is, they did not require any modifications to the engine or tank of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings’ cruise ships and thus allowed an immediate impact without any need for additional investment in these ships.”