Biofuels are expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 80% compared to standard fuels. Credit: Hapag-Lloyd AG.

German shipping firm Hapag-Lloyd has reached an agreement to carry shipments for DHL Global Forwarding, Deutsche Post DHL Group’s air and ocean freight forwarder division, using advanced biofuels.

Hapag-Lloyd will initially transport 18,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) of DHL’s volume using advanced biofuels, which will be produced from raw biological materials that include used cooking oil and other waste products.

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The move is anticipated to lower Well-to-Wake CO₂ emissions by 14,000 tonnes.

The biofuel is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 80% in comparison to standard fuels.

DHL Global Forwarding ocean freight global head Dominique von Orelli said: “The decarbonisation of heavy transport is an important challenge that the entire industry needs to rethink. That is why we are very proud to have found a partner in Hapag-Lloyd that shares the same ambitions for a climate-neutral world as anchored in the Paris Agreement.”

DHL and Hapag-Lloyd are both focused on offering sustainable logistic solutions and using sustainable fuels to meet their net-zero emissions targets by 2050 and 2045, respectively.

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To provide a carbon-reduced transport solution using biofuel blends rather than traditional fossil marine fuel oil (MFO), Hapag-Lloyd has been trialling advanced biofuels since 2020.

Hapag-Lloyd global sales managing director Danny Smolders said: “Biofuel will play a significant role in the upcoming years on our path to becoming net-zero carbon by 2045.

“This project will bring us a step closer to offering our customers biofuel-powered transportation as a commercial product and thereby to supporting them in their efforts to reduce their carbon footprint.”

Last month, Hapag-Lloyd completed the acquisition of Deutsche Afrika-Linien’s (DAL) container liner business.

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