New EU fuel tool launches

The FuelEU Maritime Calculator, developed by zero44, is set to provide a ‘good initial basis’ for dealing with costs associated with the impending regulation.

Aimed at kick-starting the large-scale use of sustainable marine fuels, FuelEU Maritime’s main focus is reducing vessels’ greenhouse gas emissions.

The regulation will enter into force in January 2025, imposing an ever stricter limit on emissions until an 80% reduction from 2050 onwards is reached.

“In order to be able to adapt to FuelEU Maritime, companies first need to understand what costs they can expect,” explained Friederike Hesse, co-founder and managing director of zero44.

“Our tool makes concrete what was previously abstract. We hope it will give as many companies as possible an initial incentive and a basis to take a closer look at the topic.”

Information already exists on the new regulation, but is mostly of a technical, regulatory or scientific nature, says zero44.

The free tool will enable shipping companies to assess the impact on their businesses. Users simply enter the annual fuel consumption of a ship and its exposure to EU regulation. The tool then calculates the resulting greenhouse gas intensity and the penalties to be expected.

zero44 stresses that the tool’s calculations are estimates and do not take into account all individual parameters such as the specific type of biodiesel used or a ship’s engine type and the resulting amount of slipped emissions.

Moreover, only conventional fuels and biodiesel are currently covered. The results are therefore primarily intended as an initial assessment, not as a final decision-making aid for companies.

The company says it is also working on a solution that integrates with voyage data and can be used to plan and predict GHG intensities under different scenarios as well as monitor intensities over voyages and time periods.