Royal Caribbean to test biofuel on two ships

Market: Biofuels
07/06/23

US cruise ship operator Royal Caribbean will test a biofuel blend in two of its ships as part of its research on using alternative marine fuels.

The company will use the biofuel on Symphony of the Seas and Celebrity Apex. The tests will take place over a three-month period this summer with the ships departing from Barcelona, Spain, and Rotterdam, Netherlands, respectively.

The biofuel blend used for the trial is produced by purifying renewable oils and fats and blending it with fuel oil, according to Royal Caribbean. The company said it aims to scale up its use of biofuels and other alternative marine fuels after the test is finished.

Royal Caribbean also completed a trial using renewable diesel on board its vessel Navigator of the Seas last year. That ship traveled from Los Angeles, California to Mexico.

By Luis Gronda

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02/05/25

Japan’s Saffaire starts supplying SAF to Japan Airlines

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US bill would extend expired biofuel credits

01/05/25

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01/05/25

US bill would extend expired biofuel credits

New York, 1 May (Argus) — Legislation soon to be introduced in the US House would extend expired biofuel incentives through 2026, potentially providing a reprieve to refiners that have curbed production this year because of policy uncertainty. The bill, which will be sponsored by US representative Mike Carey (R-Ohio) and some other Republicans on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, according to a person familiar, could be introduced as soon as today. It would prolong both the long-running $1/USG for blenders of biomass-based diesel and a separate incentive that offers up to $1.01/USG for producers of cellulosic ethanol. The credits expired at the end of last year but under the proposal would be extended through both 2025 and 2026. The incentives would run alongside the Inflation Reduction Act's new "45Z" credit for clean fuel producers, which offers a sliding scale of benefits based on carbon intensity, though the bill would prevent double claiming of credits, according to bill text shared with Argus . The 45Z credit is less generous across the board to road fuels — offering $1/USG only for carbon-neutral fuels and much less for crop-based diesels — and is still in need of final rules after President Joe Biden's administration issued only preliminary guidance around qualifying. The proposal then would effectively offer a more generous alternative through 2026 for biodiesel, renewable diesel, and cellulosic ethanol but not for other fuels that can claim the technology-neutral 45Z incentive. That could upend the economics of renewable fuel production. Vegetable oil-based diesels for instance could claim the blenders credit and earn more than aviation fuels that draw from the same feedstocks. According to Argus Consulting estimates, aviation fuels derived from wastes like distillers corn oil and domestic used cooking should still earn more than $1/USG this year, conversely, since 45Z is more generous to aviation fuels. Extending the biodiesel blenders credit would also allow foreign fuel imports to again claim federal subsidies, a boost for Finnish refiner Neste and the ailing Canadian biofuel startup Braya Renewable Fuels but a controversial provision for US refiners and feedstock suppliers. The 45Z incentive can only be claimed by US producers. The blenders incentive is also popular among fuel marketer groups, which have warned that shifting subsidies to producers could up fuel costs. The proposal adds to a contentious debate taking place across the biofuel value chain about what the future of clean fuel incentives should look like. Some industry groups see a wholesale reversion to preexisting biofuel credits — or even a temporary period where various partly overlapping incentives coexist — as a tough sell to cost-concerned lawmakers and have instead pushed for revamping 45Z. A proposal last month backed by some farm groups would keep the 45Z incentive but ban foreign feedstocks and adjust carbon intensity modeling to benefit crops. Republicans could keep, modify, extend, or repeal the 45Z incentive as part of negotiations around a larger tax bill this year. But the caucus is still negotiating how much to reduce the federal budget deficit and what to do with Inflation Reduction Act incentives that have spurred clean energy projects in conservative districts. Uncertainty about the future of biofuel policy and sharply lower margins to start 2025 have led to a recently pronounced drop in biodiesel and renewable diesel production . President Donald Trump's administration is working on new biofuel blend mandates, which could be proposed in the coming weeks, but has said little about its plans for biofuel tax policy. By Cole Martin Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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China issues first export quota for SAF

30/04/25

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30/04/25

China issues first export quota for SAF

Shanghai, 30 April (Argus) — Chinese biodiesel and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) producer Jiaao Entrotech said today it has received government approval to export SAF from Lianyungang port. The producer has a quota to export 372,400t of SAF this year. It can export the SAF under the same harmonised system (HS) codes as conventional jet fuel, such as 27101911. The new SAF quota is an additional allocation and will not affect the volume of jet fuel export quotas that are regularly allocated to Chinese refiners. Jiaao's SAF plant is located at Guanyun in Lianyungang, a port in east China's Jiangsu province. The plant has 500,000 t/yr of operational capacity. This is the first time the Chinese government has issued an export quota for SAF. Other Chinese SAF producers in the government's approved list will also receive export quotas after further evaluation by Beijing, according to market participants. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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DG Fuels eyes larger, later Louisiana SAF plant

29/04/25

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29/04/25

DG Fuels eyes larger, later Louisiana SAF plant

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Brazil's 2025-26 sugar crop to near record 46mn t

29/04/25

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29/04/25

Brazil's 2025-26 sugar crop to near record 46mn t

Sao Paulo, 29 April (Argus) — Brazil may produce a record amount of sugar in the 2025-26 sugarcane crop despite lower crushing because more feedstock is set for the sweetener's production instead of ethanol. Brazil is set to produce 45.9mn metric tonnes (t) of sugar in the 2025-26 crop — which officially started on 1 April — a 4pc increase from the prior season, according to national supply company Conab's first estimate for the cycle. But Conab expects 2025-26 sugarcane crushing to decrease by 2pc from the the prior season, because of unfavorable weather conditions in the months prior to the beginning of the crop. The center-south — responsible for 90pc of national output — was hit by lack of rainfalls and high temperatures in most of last year, harming the development and growing of crops which would be harvested in the current cycle. The planted sugarcane area is expected to reach 8.8mn hectares (ha), a slight 0.3pc rise from the prior cycle, but yields are estimated to decrease by 2.3pc to 75,450 kg/ha. The annual increase in sugar output came because international sugar prices became more attractive than domestic ethanol prices. Both products are derived from sugarcane and production of one occurs at the expense of the other. Additionally, Brazilian mills increased investments on sugar crystallizing capacity last year and market participants expect the results to materialize this season. Ethanol output to fall Brazil will produce 36.8bn l (635,180 b/d) of ethanol in the 2025-26 crop, a 1pc drop from the 2024-25 season, driven by less sugarcane-based ethanol, Conab said. Sugarcane ethanol output is estimated to drop by 4.2pc from the prior cycle, because of less available feedstock and an estimated higher share of sugarcane directed to sugar production instead of the biofuel. But a projected 11pc increase in corn-based ethanol production in the 2025-26 season from the previous cycle partially offsets that expected drop in sugarcane ethanol output. Hydrous ethanol production in the 2025-26 season is estimated to total 22.7bn l, a 6.8pc decrease from 24.4bn l in the 2024-25 crop, while output of anhydrous ethanol — used as a gasoline blendstock — may rise by 10pc to 14.1bn l. By Maria Albuquerque Projections for 2025-26 sugarcane crop 2024-25 2025-26 ±% Sugarcane ('000t) 676.96 663.43 -2 Sugar '000t 44.12 45.87 4 Sugarcane-based ethanol ('000l) 29,350,340 28,111,241 -4.2 Corn-based ethanol ('000l) 7,839,526 8,704,034 11 Ethanol total ('000l) 37,189,865 36,815,275 -1 Source: Conab Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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