After Boskalis, Belgian dredging and offshore wind contractor Jan De Nul Group will now also carry out dredging work in the Benelux using renewable bio-fuel. Its trailing suction hopper dredger Alexander von Humboldt has already started using the fuel created from certified and sustainable waste streams.
With this, the company aims to considerably reduce its CO2 emissions. In this context, Jan De Nul also wants to collaborate with the Flemish government to introduce a minimal CO2 reduction obligation of fifteen per cent for eighty per cent of the maintenance dredging contracts in Flanders by 2022 at the latest.
Boskalis and Jan De Nul Set Example
‘Why wait until tomorrow when it’s already possible today? We need concrete action,’ says Bart Praet, Head of the Dredging Benelux department at Jan De Nul Group. ‘This intervention makes us at least eighty per cent CO2 neutral. With this we want to prove to the governments and to our clients in the Benelux that if they have climate ambitions and incorporate these in the selection procedures, the market is ready for it now. At the same time, we are urging our colleagues in the sector to follow our example in a renewable and climate-neutral trajectory. We are continuing to work hard on our energy transition, relying on innovative solutions.’
Yet, Jan De Nul was not the first to operate a dredger on bio-fuel. In October, its Dutch counterpart Boskalis already reported it was operating its dredger Willem van Oranje on one hundred per cent bio-fuel oil.
Bio-fuel from Waste
The trailing suction hopper dredger Alexander von Humboldt sails using sustainable renewable bio-fuel from waste streams. The ship will carry out maintenance dredging works in the maritime access routes, on the North Sea and in Flemish seaports.
The second generation of bio-fuel is supplied by bio-fuel market leader GoodFuels, which also supplies the fuel to Boskalis. The fuel reduces CO2 emissions by at least eighty per cent and is also sulphur-free. GoodFuels pioneered in the development, commercialisation and supply of renewable fuel in the shipping industry. Jan De Nul Group has entered into a multi-year agreement with them.
