Food business operator Orkla Suomi, transport company Scandic Trans and Viking Line have launched a new scheduled freight service with transport that runs on biofuel.
The companies say that transport emissions along the green freight corridor, which stretches from Fågelmara in Sweden to Turku in Finland, are 90% lower than previously.
The transport chain starts at the biggest ketchup factory in the Nordic region, with Scandic Trans lorries from Korsholm driving to Viking Line’s terminal in Stadsgården, Stockholm.
The lorries then cross the Archipelago Sea via the Viking Glory and Viking Grace ferries.
Scandic Trans refuels its lorries with biofuel produced from hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), while Viking Line buys liquefied biogas (LBG) made from organic waste from Gasum to cover fuel use during transport.
“At Orkla’s companies, large volumes of food products are transported between the Nordic countries. The biogas project on this bustling route is one step in our sustainability journey. Our goal is to cut our greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030 compared to 2016. Reducing our environmental impact is part of our day-to-day development work. So it was fantastic how easy it was for us as a cargo customer to make the switch to this green maritime corridor,” says Mauri Suuronen, Planning and Logistics Manager at Orkla Suomi.
For each shipment, carbon dioxide emissions are reduced from 1,512 kilogrammes to 102 kilogrammes. The parties behind the green corridor say this means an annual decrease in emissions of about 190 tonnes.
“Lowering emissions has long been a key issue for road transport, so we have focused on introducing HVO biofuel. Now that it is also possible to use biofuel in the maritime part of the transport chain, the emissions reduction is revolutionary. And the most important thing is that biofuel can be used on a large scale, and the environmental impact can be reported for each transport mode. The transport sector’s reputation is not the best on environmental issues, so it is important to show that sustainable alternatives are available,” says Mikael Löfqvist, CEO of the transport company Scandic Trans.
Viking Glory and Viking Grace currently operate mostly on liquefied natural gas (LNG), but can use other sustainable fuels if desired.
“We have invested a total of 450 million euros in our climate-smart vessels. As a result, we have now successfully launched scheduled freight service using biofuel in partnership with Orkla Suomi and Scandic Trans. This is a fantastic and important demonstration of the power of cooperation on sustainability measures – this requires supply and demand, and naturally a shared willingness to take climate-smart actions. This green freight corridor has attracted enormous interest across the Nordic region, and it is only a matter of time before more companies sign up,” added Harri Tamminen, Freight Director at Viking Line.