By
Laura Hyde |
Viking Line will offer fossil-free travel option from autumn 2025, when it makes a sixfold increase in the purchase of renewable bio-LNG. The fuel will be used by Viking Glory and Viking Grace on the route between Turku, Finland, and Stockholm, Sweden.
Viking Line has worked in collaboration with the energy company Gasum for a number of years to develop the market for biofuel. Both ferries will also use LNG to complement the biogas as it also generates virtually no sulphur or particulate matter emissions. Furthermore, the use of biogas contributes to a circular economy as the raw materials consist of waste streams from food and agricultural waste.
“By running on biogas, Viking Line contributes to emission reductions in Gasum’s pooling service for FuelEU Maritime compliance, which is used by vessels that cannot use biofuel themselves” said Jacob Granqvist, vice president of maritime at Gasum. “Viking Line thus helps the entire maritime transport sector to reduce emissions. Starting on 1 January 2025, vessels must reduce their emissions by two per cent, but required reductions will increase all the way to 80 per cent by 2050. We therefore need trailblazers like Viking Line, which can pave the way for others.”
This year Viking Line expects to increase its biogas usage to 3,800 tonnes, up from 600 tonnes in 2024 and 10 tonnes in 2023. This will reduce the company’s greenhouse gas emissions by 17,000 tonnes, which is equivalent to the average annual carbon footprint of nearly 1,700 Finns, according to Viking Line.
“We have worked with others to create the market for biogas,” said Dani Lindberg, head of sustainability at Viking Line. “Supply has now increased to a level that enables the use of renewable fuel to a significant extent. We have now been able to agree on our purchases through to October, and our goal is to continue at the same level. Moreover, the amount of bio-LNG used will increase thanks to the fossil-free maritime journeys that our customers purchase.”
Viking Line has also helped to develop a green corridor between Turku and Stockholm, as well as between Helsinki in Finland and Tallinn, Estonia, where it has plans to operate a 100 per cent electric passenger car ferry.
“We want to be among the pioneers when Finnish maritime transport shows the way to a fossil-free future for the rest of the world,” said Jan Hanses, CEO of Viking Line. “Major investments in sustainable solutions require predictability in operations and good collaboration both throughout the maritime cluster and with public sector actors.”