This report on the availability of sustainable biofuels for shipping is a follow-up to SSI’s 2019 inquiry into the role of sustainable biofuels for shipping. Commissioned by SSI and authored by GreenFuelHub, the report draws on  academic research, industry reports, and publicly available data to outline the current landscape for biofuels in shipping, covering biofuel types and production methods, use and trials in shipping, as well as the challenges surrounding availability and shipping’s role in the broader bioeconomy.

The report explores the availability of sustainable biofuels issue, noting several reasons why estimating exact numbers (in terms of volume) can be a challenge. Sustainable biofuels production requires a sustainable biomass feedstock which is a limited resource that many sectors seeking to move away from fossil-based production will be competing on. The report thus highlights that the availability of sustainable biofuels for the shipping sector must be seen in the context of the overall bioeconomy.

This report concludes SSI’s current work on biofuels, which began in 2018 with the report Zero Emission Vessels: What needs to be done? and continued with the 2019 inquiry on The Role of Sustainable Biofuels in the Decarbonisation of Shipping.

Note: A previous version of this report mistakenly referred to metric tonnes instead of Megatonnes on page 6.