LINDØ port of ODENSE enters into biodiesel pilot scheme with Emmelev

Now the first vehicles at Lindø Port of Odense have been refueled with pure climate-friendly biodiesel - for us there is a perspective in being able to roll out more biodiesel, says CEO Carsten Aa.

Lindø Port of Odense gets power from three large wind turbines on the port site, and the next step is biodiesel in the tank, said CEO Carsten Aa this week when he presented a new collaboration between the port and Emmelev A/S.

In a pilot scheme, Emmelev A/S will supply climate-friendly and fossil-free biodiesel, which will initially be used to fuel two of the port's vehicles. But CEO and new chairman of the Danish Ports Association, Carsten Aa, did not hide the potential. Why should the world's largest mobile crane with a height of 57.50 meters and a weight of 824 tons, which the port received in February, not run on climate-friendly biodiesel in the future, he said when the agreement with Emmelev A/S was presented.

Making a green transition
Biodiesel will help reduce the climate footprint of Lindø Port of Odense - Denmark's largest port in terms of area, which is making a major effort in a number of areas to implement a green transition. 

"We have a wide range of diesel-powered vehicles out here. From rubber trucks to huge cranes - the world's largest mobile harbor crane, which is also diesel-powered. So for us, there is a perspective of being able to roll out more biodiesel. We have a large consumption in this area, says Carsten Aa.

Rapeseed from yellow fields
The agreement has been made with the North Funen company Emmelev A/S, which produces biodiesel from the rapeseed that many people are seeing flourishing in the fields right now.

On Monday, the first load of biodiesel was delivered, with the port's director Carsten Aa, co-owner of Emmelev A/S Morten Simonsen and former climate minister Lars Christian Lilleholt (V).

Climate Minister Dan Jørgensen (S) has previously said that he sees potential for biodiesel to be part of the solution in meeting the government's target of reducing CO2 emissions in Denmark by 70 percent by 2030. 

Lilleholt agrees
The Liberal Party's Lars Christian Lilleholt, former climate minister, agrees: 

"The potential is enormous. We need to get rid of fossil energy - coal and oil - and we need to bring in green energy. Biodiesel is definitely a sensible solution. Biodiesel has far lower CO2 emissions than regular gasoline and diesel," he says.

"We have a strong green profile, and just as we have huge projects, we also have small projects we would like to be involved in if it can help highlight that profile," says Carsten Aa.

Running on pure biodiesel
Emmelev A/S has been producing biodiesel since 2002, and today biodiesel production accounts for a quarter of their total production.

The diesel you fill up at gas stations around Denmark consists of about seven percent biodiesel, but in Denmark there are not many who run on pure biodiesel or a higher proportion than seven percent, as the two vehicles at the port must, says co-owner Morten Simonsen, Emmelev A/S.