New generation of fuel pontoons
Swedish company Fossil Free Marine was founded in 2019 by Niklas Sjöö and Karl-Oskar Tjernström. But in reality, Niklas Sjöö's thinking about the possibility of creating a more safe and environmentally friendly distribution of fuel in the marine sector goes back to the early 2010s, and he is already familiar with the maritime and fuel industries through his family’s background in the fuel industry, mainly at Statoil. "For my part, I discovered the advantages of drop-in biofuels this when after switching to HVO renewable diesel in my old Land Rover diesel, I realized that Volvo Penta was certifying its marine engines for HVO. I thought that there was an opportunity to decarbonize boating and shipping with biofuels," explains Karl-Oskar Tjernström.
The problem is that the fuel stations in the ports are not adapted and up to standards for the storage of these new fuels. Many are old and date back to the 1970's and do not meet the safety criteria at all" underlines the CEO of Fossil Free Marine. The 2 partners have therefore developed a new generation port fuel stations.
Designing pontoons for the most stringent standards
Design and development of the new marine station has taken into account international regulations on safety and fire and the chemical characteristics of biofuels, which are particularly corrosive for tanks. The choice was made to use composite materials designed in-house. "I usually say that it is a station identical to those on land, placed on a warship. The composite used comes from the military. The construction as well as production is certified by the DNV," adds Karl-Oskar Tjernström.
Build infrastructure locally
A first model of 24 meters, with 6 fuel tanks of 10 m3 each and balancing ballasts, has been designed. The announced budget is 1.5 Meuros. The first station is expected to be operational in Stockholm in July 2022. The ambition of Fossil Free Marine is to deploy the product in series by the end of 2022.
A second model, more modest and adapted to small marinas, with a length of approximately 13.5 meters and a capacity of 30 m3, is under study.
In order to be the most rational ecologically speaking, the company even has plans to send the pontoons in the form of flat panel kits to be assembled locally by partner shipyards. The announced lifespan of the pontoon is 50 years.
Evolving with the greening of the boating industry
Although the use of biofuels is still very low in the yachting industry (0.4% in Sweden), the company is convinced of its role in the ecological transition of boating. Fossil Free Marine also anticipates other developments. A version equipped with superchargers for electric boats is under study and the pontoons equipped with tanks are planned to be retrofittable into electric charging stations for the future evolution of boating.
