Furetank joins LBG development for fossil-free shipping

Swedish shipping company Furetank joins the development of a new biogas plant producing around 5,000 tonnes of LBG annually as one of the keys to fossil-free shipping.

Liquefied biogas is one of the keys to fossil-free shipping. However, the lack of supply is its major issue. Therefore, Furetank signed a letter of intent with Eskilstuna Biogas, enabling the development of a new biogas plant. The plant is to specifically produce around 5,000 tonnes of LBG per year.

Furetank commits to buying at least 75 per cent of the produced fuel for ten years.

The company also said it strives to be a leader in climate and environmentally efficient shipping. It has developed a new series of vessels that are on the top of the class according to the IMO’s climate standards for shipping. These vessels operate mainly on LNG, but the ambition is to switch over to LBG.

“With LBG produced in the right way, we can run our vessels completely without emitting CO2 or harmful particles. This is a strategic move. We developed the new efficient vessels, chose gas as a fuel and offset the remaining emissions. Now we move on to securing our own supply of LBG”, said Furetank’s CEO Lars Höglund.

The biogas plant project receives approximately $15.1 million in grants from the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency’s support for climate investments.

“In addition to these grants and public production support for biogas, a long-term agreement with a strong partner is required to make this big investment and achieve the large-scale biogas production that we are planning. It is also very gratifying to find a partner who sees business opportunities in leading the way towards climate neutrality,” said Kaj Wågdahl from Eskilstuna Biogas.

Production is to start in the last quarter of 2023. Furetank says that when all shipping companies need to start paying for their CO2 emissions, it will be one step ahead.

“We became the first shipping company in Sweden and second in the world to bunker LBG in 2018. Now we have a clear plan for the transition,” said Höglund.

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