BP and WasteFuel to collaborate on low-carbon fuels for shipping sector

BP, through its arm BP Ventures, has expanded its investment in bioenergy by committing $10 million and leading the Series B investment round in WasteFuel, a California-based biofuels company focused on converting municipal bio-waste into low-carbon fuels, such as bio-methanol.

WasteFuel’s existing investors include Maersk, NetJets, Prime Infra, i(x) Net Zero, Marc Benioff’s TIME Ventures, Guy Oseary, and Aileen Getty amongst others, and now BP.

WasteFuel plans to develop multiple bio-methanol plants around the world in collaboration with local strategic partners including waste companies. With the investment from BP, the company expects to launch its first project in Dubai and it has a pipeline of additional projects to develop.

BP and WasteFuel have also entered a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for BP to offtake the produced bio-methanol and to work together to help optimize and improve bio-methanol production. 

By deploying its anaerobic digestion and methanol production technologies, WasteFuel aims to convert municipal and agricultural waste into viable lower-emission alternatives to traditional fuels, like bio-methanol, which has the potential to contribute to the decarbonisation of the shipping sector.

In the effort to reach net zero, some of the biggest companies in the shipping industry are converting to methanol-ready ships. BP said it is working to establish supplies of lower-carbon alternative fuels for the shipping sector and will look to use its trading expertise to bring WasteFuel’s bio-methanol to market.

• WasteFuel, Averda to produce green methanol for shipping in the Middle East
• WasteFuel launches methanol module to speed up waste-to-green fuel production

Gareth Burns, Vice President of BP Ventures, said: “WasteFuel projects will look to help with the growing volumes of global waste, whilst advancing the development of lower carbon solutions for hard-to-abate sectors. Achieving decarbonisation in shipping will require a step-change, and biofuels have a key role to play in helping the industry to decarbonise. We look forward to working together on WasteFuel’s next stage of growth and market development.”

Philipp Schoelzel, Vice President of next-generation biofuels in BP, added: “Working with WasteFuel allows BP to offtake bio-methanol and help optimize production which could support decarbonising shipping. BP is in action to produce more biofuels, aiming to deliver around 100,000 barrels per day by 2030, to help decarbonise transport. Investments like this are important as we strive to reach net zero and help our customers decarbonise too.”

Trevor Neilson, Co-founder, Chairman and CEO of WasteFuel, commented: “This investment from BP ventures is a significant milestone for WasteFuel as it will help scale the production of bio-methanol to decarbonise the shipping sector. As companies who are reliant on shipping work to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, it is essential that we dramatically expand the availability of these fuels.”

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