Indo-Danish carbon removal company MASH Makes has launched a new technological solution to decarbonise hard-to-abate industries, including shipping. Following external tests, the group successfully developed a carbon-negative shipping fuel made from agricultural waste, which it says can be used as a viable replacement for fossil fuels in the sector. The product will now be trialled in live vessels, in collaboration with global shipping company NORDEN. MASH Makes said the trials represented a key milestone in the transition to net zero, predicting biofuel will play a key role in decarbonising shipping and heavy industry. “Shipping facilitates over 80% of global trade and uses more than 330 million tonnes of fossil fuel every year, accounting for over 3% of CO2 emissions annually – more than all of Germany,” it added. “Achieving climate goals is impossible without decarbonising this global economic lynchpin, and it has proven difficult to achieve this using the go-to technologies of the green transition.” The use of the biofuel could help to avoid 90% of greenhouse gas emissions in the sector, MASH Makes claimed. The company will use a proprietary thermochemical process to transform a wide range of waste products into energy and carbon-removal solutions, aiming to deliver positive environmental impact at the “gigaton level”. Alongside biofuel, its technology will produce hydrogen, methanol, ammonia, and biochar – all of which play a part in industrial decarbonisation efforts. “These results represent a paradigm shift for sustainable shipping fuels and a glimmer of hope for other industries struggling to find viable solutions for the green transition,” said Jakob Andersen, CEO of MASH Makes.
