Per-fuel well-to-wake intensity: FAME (biodiesel)

Background: FAME as first-generation biodiesel

FAME is the original commercial biodiesel and the oldest large-scale alternative to fossil diesel in the road and marine sectors. The transesterification chemistry was patented in Belgium in 1937 by G. Chavanne and reached European commercial volumes in the early 1990s when Germany commissioned the first large rapeseed methyl ester (RME) plants. By 2024 the global FAME production capacity had reached approximately 50 million tonnes per year, dominated by the United States, the European Union, Indonesia, Brazil, and Argentina. The European share is approximately 14 million tonnes per year, with rapeseed, used cooking oil, and animal fat as the main feedstocks.

The marine bunker share of total FAME output is small, on the order of 1 to 2 million tonnes per year in 2024. The marine entry route runs through ISO 8217 distillate and residual fuel-blend grades, principally as B7 to B30 blends in the DMA-7, DMB-7, RM-7, and RM-12 grades introduced in the 2017 ISO 8217 revision. Pure B100 marine bunkers are limited to demonstration voyages and to specific engine-OEM-endorsed deployments such as the CMA CGM and Maersk biofuel pilot fleets.

The FAME molecule sits in a distinct chemical category from HVO and from fossil paraffinic distillate. The methyl-ester functional group introduces oxygen into the fuel, lowers the lower heating value relative to petroleum diesel, raises the density and viscosity, and creates a polar attraction to water that drives the oxidation and microbial-growth pathways that constrain marine storage life. The trade-off is that FAME production is technologically simpler and substantially cheaper per tonne than HVO production: a small modular FAME plant can be built for less than 50 million USD, whereas an HVO hydrotreatment plant requires hundreds of millions of USD of capital, a continuous hydrogen supply, and refinery-scale operations.

The lifecycle GHG benefit of FAME is real but narrower than for HVO. Waste-derived FAME (UCO and animal-fat methyl esters) carries WtT intensity in the same range as waste-derived HVO at approximately 15 to 20 gCO2eq/MJ. Crop-based FAME, especially palm-oil-derived FAME, carries an indirect land-use change (ILUC) penalty that pushes the WtT intensity above 80 gCO2eq/MJ in the worst case. The feedstock identity is the principal lever on FAME compliance value.

FAME production: transesterification chemistry

The FAME production pathway is a base-catalysed transesterification of triglyceride feedstock with methanol, producing methyl esters and glycerol as a byproduct. The process is straightforward chemistry, low-pressure, low-temperature, and well-suited to small and medium-scale operation:

A typical commercial plant operates at approximately 60 degrees Celsius and atmospheric pressure, with a methanol-to-oil molar ratio of 6:1, a sodium methoxide or KOH catalyst loading of approximately 0.5 to 1.0 percent by mass, and a residence time of one to two hours. The reaction is approximately 95 to 98 percent complete in a single stage; a two-stage reactor train pushes conversion above 99.5 percent.

Step 1: Feedstock pretreatment. Crude vegetable oil, UCO, or animal fat is degummed (phosphoric acid wash to remove phospholipids), dewatered, and acid-pretreated if the free fatty acid content exceeds approximately 0.5 percent. High-FFA feedstock requires an acid esterification pre-step using sulphuric acid catalyst to convert FFA into methyl ester, otherwise the FFA reacts with the alkaline catalyst to form soap.

Step 2: Transesterification. The pretreated oil is mixed with methanol and catalyst in a stirred tank reactor, heated to 60 degrees Celsius, and held for one to two hours. The reaction produces FAME and glycerol in a single liquid phase that separates on cooling into an upper FAME-rich layer and a lower glycerol-rich layer.

Step 3: Glycerol separation and methanol recovery. The two phases are decanted in a continuous separator. The glycerol phase is sent to a glycerol refining unit (acidulation, methanol stripping, vacuum distillation) to recover technical-grade glycerol as a byproduct. Glycerol is approximately 10 percent of the FAME mass yield. Methanol is recovered from both phases by atmospheric distillation and recycled to the reactor.

Step 4: FAME washing and drying. The crude FAME phase is washed with warm water in a counter-current extraction column, then vacuum-dried to remove water below the EN 14214 specification of 500 mg/kg. The washed and dried FAME is filtered, polished, and storage-tanked.

Step 5: Quality control. Each batch is analysed against the EN 14214 specification for ester content, density, viscosity, flash point, water, sulphated ash, free and total glycerol, methanol residue, and oxidation stability. The certificate of analysis is the EN 14214 Proof of Conformity that accompanies the consignment to the road or marine fuel market.

The byproduct glycerol economics are an important driver of plant viability. Crude glycerol from FAME production is approximately 60 to 80 percent pure and is sold to refiners who upgrade it to technical-grade or pharmaceutical-grade glycerol. The glycerol coproduct stream returns approximately 50 to 100 USD per tonne of crude glycerol against a FAME cost of approximately 1,200 to 1,800 USD per tonne, so glycerol is roughly a 5 to 10 percent revenue contribution.

EN 14214 specification

EN 14214 is the European specification for fatty acid methyl ester biodiesel for compression-ignition engines, first issued by CEN in 2003 and most recently revised in 2019. EN 14214 is the regulatory hook for FAME road use, is referenced by the EU fuel quality directive, and is the technical reference for marine FAME blending under ISO 8217:2017.

The principal EN 14214 limits are:

• Ester content: minimum 96.5 percent by mass.
• Density at 15 degrees Celsius: 860 to 900 kg/m3 (against fossil EN 590 at 820 to 845 kg/m3 and HVO at 770 to 790 kg/m3).
• Kinematic viscosity at 40 degrees Celsius: 3.5 to 5.0 cSt.
• Flash point: minimum 101 degrees Celsius, comfortably above the 60 degrees Celsius marine requirement.
• Sulphur: maximum 10 mg/kg (0.001 percent).
• Sulphated ash: maximum 0.02 percent.
• Water content: maximum 500 mg/kg (critical for storage stability and microbial control).
• Total contamination: maximum 24 mg/kg.
• Oxidation stability at 110 degrees Celsius: minimum 8 hours (Rancimat). The 2014 amendment raised the threshold from 6 to 8 hours; marine bunker buyers typically require 20 hours.
• Free glycerol: maximum 0.02 percent; total glycerol maximum 0.25 percent.
• Cold filter plugging point (CFPP): graded by climate class, typically minus 5 degrees Celsius (summer) or minus 20 degrees Celsius (winter).
• Methanol content: maximum 0.20 percent.
• Iodine value: maximum 120 g iodine per 100 g (polyunsaturated content control).

ISO 8217:2017 marine FAME-blend grades (B-numbers)

ISO 8217 is the marine fuel specification standard, and the 2017 revision introduced explicit FAME-blend grades to handle the rising volume of FAME in the bunker pool. Earlier ISO 8217 editions prohibited any FAME content, and the 2017 grades are the first formal admission of biodiesel into marine fuel.

The 2017 FAME-blend grades are:

• DMA-7: the DMA distillate envelope (viscosity 2.0 to 6.0 cSt at 40 degC, density up to 890 kg/m3 at 15 degC) plus up to 7 percent FAME by volume. The 7 percent cap aligns with the EN 590 road-diesel B7 cap, allowing road-blended distillate to enter the marine pool without re-specification.
• DMB-7: the DMB envelope (viscosity 2.0 to 11.0 cSt) plus up to 7 percent FAME by volume.
• RM-7: the residual fuel-oil envelope (broadly RMG/RMK at 80 to 700 cSt at 50 degC) plus up to 7 percent FAME by volume.
• RM-12: the residual envelope plus up to 12 percent FAME by volume.

The 2017 revision also tightened acid number (0.5 mg KOH/g), water content (0.30 percent), and oxidation stability inside the FAME-blend grades to manage the storage and stability concerns introduced by FAME inclusion.

The 2024 revision of ISO 8217 consolidates and extends the FAME-blend treatment with the DF (Distillate FAME) suffix grades and the LF (Low FAME) clarification, but the 2017 numerical B-number grades remain the operative reference for most supply contracts and bunker delivery notes in 2026. The DMA-7, DMB-7, RM-7, and RM-12 grades are the regulatory bridge between the EN 14214 road-FAME world and the marine bunker pool.

LCV, density, oxygen content

The fuel parameters of commercial FAME are tightly clustered across producers and feedstocks because EN 14214 enforces a narrow specification window:

Lower heating value (LHV): approximately 37.0 to 37.5 MJ/kg, against fossil MGO at 42.7 MJ/kg and HVO at 44.0 MJ/kg. The 13 percent LHV deficit versus MGO is driven by the oxygen content of the methyl-ester functional group (approximately 11 percent oxygen by mass), which displaces hydrogen and carbon and reduces combustion enthalpy. A vessel switching from MGO to 100 percent FAME at the same shaft power consumes approximately 15 percent more fuel mass.

Density at 15 degrees Celsius: approximately 0.860 to 0.890 t/m3, slightly above MGO and well above HVO. FAME is the densest of the three diesel-equivalent fuels. On a volumetric basis, FAME delivers approximately 32.6 MJ/litre against MGO at 36.3 MJ/litre, so volumetric consumption on 100 percent FAME is approximately 11 percent higher.

Cetane number: approximately 51 to 60 (against MGO at 45 to 55 and HVO at 70 to 90).

Sulphur: less than 10 ppm, well below the 0.1 percent ECA cap.

Aromatic content: essentially zero. Oxygen content: approximately 11 percent by mass, the diagnostic difference from HVO and MGO.

Cloud point: feedstock-dependent. SME approximately 0 degC, RME approximately minus 4 degC, PME approximately plus 14 degC (highest, reflecting saturated palmitic-acid content), UCOME 0 to plus 5 degC, tallow ME approximately plus 10 degC. Cold-flow management is a central operational constraint.

Carbon content: approximately 77 percent by mass, against MGO at 86.5 percent. The TtW combustion CO2 factor is approximately 2.83 gCO2 per g fuel against MGO at 3.20, but for sustainably certified FAME this is biogenic and counts as zero on the WtW balance.

Cold-flow and oxidation stability concerns

The two operational risks that distinguish FAME from fossil distillate and from HVO are cold-flow and oxidation stability, both direct consequences of the methyl-ester chemistry.

Cold-flow is feedstock-dependent and driven by the saturated-fatty-acid content of the parent oil. Saturated fatty acids (palmitic, stearic) crystallise at relatively high temperature; mono- and poly-unsaturated acids (oleic, linoleic, linolenic) crystallise at low temperature. Palm oil and animal fat produce FAME with cloud points of plus 10 to plus 16 degrees Celsius, unsuitable for cold-region operation without blending or heating. Soy and rape produce FAME with cloud points of 0 to minus 5 degrees Celsius. Cold-flow improver additives can lower the cold filter plugging point by 5 to 10 degrees Celsius but cannot lower the cloud point.

For marine operations, the cold-flow constraint manifests in two ways. Fuel-tank temperature must be maintained above the cloud point during voyage to prevent wax crystal formation, typically requiring tank heating coils and steam supply for residual-grade FAME blends in cold regions. Day-tank and fuel-line temperatures must be maintained above the CFPP, with a typical operating margin of 5 degrees Celsius.

Oxidation stability is the rate at which the fuel oxidises when exposed to air, light, water, and metal catalysis. FAME is much less stable than fossil distillate or HVO because the methyl-ester functional group and residual unsaturation provide oxidation-sensitive sites. The pathway produces hydroperoxides, then aldehydes, ketones, and acids, then polymers and gums that block fuel filters and coke fuel injectors. The rate is accelerated by elevated temperature, by metal contamination (copper, brass, bronze are particularly catalytic), by water, and by light.

The EN 14214 oxidation stability minimum of 8 hours at 110 degrees Celsius (Rancimat) corresponds to approximately 6 to 12 months of storage at ambient temperature in a sealed steel tank, against fossil MGO which is essentially stable for years. Marine-grade FAME bunker buyers typically require oxidation stability of 20 hours or higher, achieved by additising the FAME with antioxidant (typically BHT or pyrogallol) at the production plant.

A related concern is microbial growth: the polar oxygen group in FAME attracts water, and the water-fuel interface supports fungi, yeast, and sulphate-reducing bacteria that produce biofilms, organic acids, and corrosion products. Microbial control requires water removal plus biocide dosing.

The cold-flow, oxidation, and microbial constraints together explain why the marine FAME blend ratio is typically capped at B7 to B30 in routine commercial operation.

MEPC.391(82) Annex 1 default WtW per feedstock

The WtT intensity of FAME under MEPC.391(82) Annex 1 is feedstock-dependent and the spread is broader than for HVO because FAME is more sensitive to upstream feedstock emissions and to ILUC penalties. The Annex 1 default values, in approximate ranges drawn from the LCA Guidelines and the underlying RED III default tables, are:

Used cooking oil methyl ester (UCOME): approximately 14 to 20 gCO2eq/MJ WtT. UCOME is the lowest-intensity commercial FAME because the feedstock counterfactual is disposal or low-value use, and only collection, pretreatment, transesterification energy, and methanol production are allocated to the WtT side.

Animal-fat methyl ester (tallow ME): approximately 15 to 25 gCO2eq/MJ WtT. Animal fats in Categories 1 and 2 are residue feedstocks under RED III Annex IX-B, with WtT intensity similar to UCOME but with slightly higher rendering and transport energy.

Rape methyl ester (RME): approximately 45 to 55 gCO2eq/MJ WtT. Rape is the dominant European crop feedstock. Agricultural emissions (fertiliser N2O, farm diesel, transport, crushing energy) plus transesterification and methanol drive the WtT intensity.

Soy methyl ester (SME): approximately 45 to 55 gCO2eq/MJ WtT excluding ILUC, rising to approximately 55 to 65 gCO2eq/MJ with ILUC penalty applied.

Sunflower methyl ester (SuME): approximately 40 to 50 gCO2eq/MJ WtT, similar to rape.

Palm methyl ester (PME): approximately 60 to 80 gCO2eq/MJ WtT including ILUC, rising to 75 to 100 gCO2eq/MJ with peatland conversion. Palm is the highest-intensity FAME pathway and is phased out of RED III by 2030.

The WtW total adds TtW combustion CO2 (zero for biogenic carbon under sustainable certification) and any methane or N2O slip from the engine (negligible for diesel-cycle on FAME). The headline ranges are 14 to 25 gCO2eq/MJ for waste-feedstock FAME, 40 to 55 gCO2eq/MJ for first-generation crop FAME, and 60 to 100 gCO2eq/MJ for palm-FAME with ILUC.

The default values are the fallback when actual values cannot be verified through certification. In practice, FAME entering the marine bunker pool is sold against an ISCC EU or 2BSvs Proof of Sustainability that names a specific feedstock and a specific WtT figure, often lower than the default.

Palm-oil ILUC penalty

Indirect Land-Use Change (ILUC) is the displaced-emission concept that captures the GHG impact of converting natural ecosystems to crop production when crops are diverted to biofuel. Diverting existing crop output to biofuel raises global prices, incentivises crop expansion elsewhere, and that expansion frequently occurs on forest, peatland, or grassland with high carbon stock. The CO2 release from clearing that land is attributed to the biofuel as an ILUC penalty.

The European Commission commissioned the GLOBIOM modelling exercise in 2015, which produced ILUC factors of approximately 12 gCO2eq/MJ for cereal and sugar crops, 23 gCO2eq/MJ for oil crops other than palm, and approximately 55 gCO2eq/MJ for palm oil. The palm factor reflects the high incidence of peatland conversion and primary-forest clearance in Indonesian and Malaysian palm expansion in the 2000s and 2010s.

For palm-oil FAME, the ILUC penalty pushes WtW intensity from approximately 25 to 35 gCO2eq/MJ (direct cultivation and processing) to approximately 75 to 100 gCO2eq/MJ (with ILUC). At the high end, palm FAME approaches or exceeds the fossil MGO benchmark of 91 to 92 gCO2eq/MJ, meaning a switch from MGO to palm-FAME could in some cases increase WtW emissions.

RED III responds with two instruments: the 7 percent food and feed crop cap on crop-based biofuels in the renewable transport target, and the palm-oil phase-out by 2030. For FuelEU compliance, the ILUC factor is incorporated into the Annex II default WtW emission factors for crop-based feedstocks, and the economics push marine FAME demand decisively towards UCOME and tallow ME, away from palm.

FuelEU Annex II: IX-A vs IX-B caps

FuelEU Maritime imports the RED III sustainability framework and applies it to the marine bunker pool. Annex II of FuelEU (Regulation (EU) 2023/1805) sets default WtW emission factors for FAME pathways that mirror the MEPC.391(82) values, and eligibility follows the RED III Annex IX feedstock taxonomy.

Annex IX-A is the advanced-biofuel list (agricultural residues, forestry residues, lignocellulosic biomass, sewage sludge, manure, straw, husks). Few FAME feedstocks fall under Annex IX-A because most FAME feedstocks are oils rather than lignocellulosic residues. Tall oil pitch is one of the few FAME-eligible Annex IX-A feedstocks. Annex IX-A feedstocks are doubly counted towards the RED III renewable transport target.

Annex IX-B is the residue list (UCO and animal fats from Category 1 and 2 rendering). Annex IX-B captures the bulk of the waste-FAME pool. Annex IX-B feedstocks are doubly counted but capped at 1.7 percent of the national transport energy contribution, reflecting limited global UCO and animal-fat supply.

Food and feed crops (soy, rape, sunflower, palm) are not on either Annex IX list and are subject to the RED III 7 percent cap. Crop-based FAME is consequently a small fraction of the European bunker pool, and the bulk of marine FAME in EU ports is UCOME or tallow ME.

The FuelEU implementation means that the feedstock category on the Proof of Sustainability determines bunker eligibility, the WtT figure on the PoS is the operative number for the GHG calculation, double counting under RED III applies to road and aviation but not FuelEU, and mass balance allows physical commingling of fossil and renewable distillate with renewable allocation tracked through certificate volumes.

The practical implication is that UCOME and tallow ME are the high-value FAME grades for marine bunker, and palm-derived FAME is largely absent from new contracts because of the WtT intensity and the 2030 phase-out.

RED III sustainability and 7 percent food/feed cap

The Renewable Energy Directive III (Directive (EU) 2023/2413) sets the binding sustainability framework for biofuels in the European Union and is imported by reference into FuelEU Maritime. The key sustainability instruments relevant to FAME are:

80 percent GHG saving threshold for new installations from 2026 onwards (and 65 percent for installations operational before 2021), calculated against the fossil fuel comparator of 94 gCO2eq/MJ. A FAME pathway with WtT of 18 gCO2eq/MJ delivers an 81 percent saving and clears the threshold. A pathway at 40 gCO2eq/MJ delivers 57 percent saving and does not clear the 80 percent threshold for new installations.

7 percent food and feed crop cap on crop-based biofuels in the renewable transport target. The cap was introduced in RED II and tightened in RED III to limit ILUC risk and redirect feedstock demand towards waste and residue streams.

1.7 percent UCO and animal-fat cap on Annex IX-B feedstocks, introduced in RED III to manage the limited global supply of UCO and animal fats.

Sustainability criteria on land use, soil organic carbon, biodiversity, and water use are operationalised through the certification schemes (ISCC EU, 2BSvs, RedCert). A bunker without certification cannot claim RED III sustainability and is treated as fossil distillate at the fossil default intensity under FuelEU.

Mass balance chain of custody allows physical commingling of renewable and fossil distillate, with renewable allocation tracked through certificate volumes that must not exceed documented input.

Operators handling FAME outside the EU face a more fragmented certification landscape, and the FuelEU rules require that bunkers loaded outside the EU and burned on intra-EU voyages still carry RED III certification or equivalent verification.

RED III post-2030 phase-out of food-crop FAME

RED III sets two distinct phase-out timelines that affect marine FAME bunker strategy.

Palm oil phase-out by 2030: RED III explicitly removes palm-oil-derived biofuels from the renewable transport target by 2030, on the rationale of ILUC risk, peatland conversion, and tropical-forest clearance. Palm-FAME is consequently exiting the European bunker pool and is largely absent from new marine bunker contracts in 2026.

Food and feed crop tightening: RED III preserves the 7 percent food and feed crop cap from RED II and signals that the cap may be tightened or removed in future revisions. The implicit policy direction is towards complete phase-out of food-crop biofuels in the EU transport mix, with replacement by waste and residue feedstocks and by RFNBO fuels.

The marine implication is that the long-run FAME bunker pool will be dominated by UCO and animal-fat methyl esters. The supply-side constraint is the limited global volume of UCO and animal fat, which caps the total addressable FAME supply at approximately 30 to 40 million tonnes per year against a marine fuel demand of approximately 250 million tonnes per year. FAME alone cannot decarbonise the marine fleet; FAME is one tool in a portfolio that includes HVO, bio-LNG, methanol, and ammonia.

For a vessel operator planning a 10-year FAME procurement strategy, the post-2030 trajectory is towards waste-feedstock FAME at roughly stable supply and slowly rising prices, with crop-FAME and palm-FAME exiting the bunker pool. The compliance value of a UCOME or tallow-ME bunker contract therefore strengthens over time.

Comparison with HVO

FAME and HVO are both diesel-equivalent biofuels produced from triglyceride feedstock, but they differ in chemistry, in marine compatibility, and in supply chain economics.

The structural takeaways: HVO is technically superior as a drop-in fuel because it is oxygen-free hydrocarbon, while FAME carries cold-flow, oxidation, and microbial issues from the methyl-ester functional group. FAME is cheaper to produce at small modular scale. Both fuels deliver similar WtW intensity for waste-feedstock pathways, with HVO slightly better because of lower process energy. The strategic direction in the EU bunker pool is towards a mix of both, with operators selecting based on engine compatibility, voyage profile, and contract availability. For full coverage of HVO, see /wiki/per-fuel-wtw-hvo.

Engine compatibility: B7, B30, B100

Marine engine compatibility with FAME blends depends on the blend ratio, the engine OEM endorsement, and the voyage profile. The standard blend designations are:

B7: 7 percent FAME by volume in fossil distillate. B7 is the baseline EN 590 road-diesel blend in Europe, is admitted to ISO 8217:2017 as DMA-7, DMB-7, RM-7, and is broadly compatible with all marine compression-ignition engines without modification. Engine OEMs (MAN Energy Solutions, WinGD, Wartsila, Caterpillar Marine, Yanmar, Hyundai Heavy Industries, MTU) have endorsed B7 marine bunker without service-letter modification.

B20: 20 percent FAME by volume. B20 is a transitional blend supported by most engine OEMs with a service letter that may require enhanced fuel filtration and water-separation duty.

B30: 30 percent FAME by volume. B30 is the upper end of routine commercial marine FAME blending, supported by most engine OEMs with a documented service letter, and used in container fleet biofuel programmes such as the CMA CGM 30 percent biofuel offering. B30 typically requires upgraded fuel filtration, reinforced fuel-line elastomers (FAME at high concentration attacks nitrile rubber, requires fluoroelastomer seals), enhanced water separation, and biocide dosing.

B50 and B100: demonstration-grade, requiring specific OEM endorsement, modified fuel-treatment systems, modified fuel-line elastomers, antioxidant additisation, and active biocide management. Several major OEMs (MAN ES on two-stroke engines, Wartsila on four-stroke engines) have qualified specific engine families for B100 operation.

The engine-compatibility ladder reflects the cumulative impact of FAME chemistry on engine durability: nitrile rubber (NBR) seals swell and degrade in high-FAME blends and require fluoroelastomer (Viton, FKM) replacement above approximately B20; copper, brass, and bronze contact catalyse FAME oxidation and should be replaced with stainless steel or aluminium at high blend ratios; fuel injectors need more frequent cleaning; and lube-oil change intervals may need shortening on engines with significant fuel-into-crankcase blow-by.

The CIMAC Working Group 7 has issued consolidated guidance on marine FAME compatibility and is the principal industry reference for bunker buyers and chief engineers.

ECA-permitted FAME blend percentages

Inside Emission Control Areas (ECAs) under MARPOL Annex VI, the 0.1 percent sulphur cap governs marine fuel selection. FAME is intrinsically below this cap (sulphur typically less than 10 ppm), so any FAME blend ratio is permitted on the sulphur metric. The ECA-permitted FAME blend is constrained not by MARPOL sulphur limits but by ISO 8217 grade selection and engine OEM endorsement.

The practical FAME blend range for ECA operation is:

• B7 (DMA-7, DMB-7): routine, no modification required, broad OEM endorsement.
• B20 to B30: routine for endorsed engines, requires upgraded fuel filtration and elastomer compatibility.
• B50 to B100: demonstration only, requires specific OEM endorsement and modified fuel-treatment system.

For ECA voyages requiring 0.1 percent sulphur fuel, the operator can bunker DMA-7, DMB-7, or RM-7 at any port that supplies these grades, and the FAME content does not affect ECA compliance.

MARPOL Annex VI NOx Tier III standards inside ECAs require approximately 76 percent NOx reduction relative to Tier I. FAME combustion produces NOx at levels comparable to fossil distillate, and Tier III compliance is achieved through SCR or EGR, neither of which is meaningfully affected by FAME blending up to B30. The SOx standards are met by the intrinsic low sulphur of FAME at any blend ratio. ECA operation on FAME-blend bunker is therefore straightforward at B7 to B30 and is not a regulatory constraint but an engine and fuel-system constraint.

Supply chain: Argent Energy, ADM, Olleco, Greenergy

The European marine FAME supply chain is dominated by a small number of producers, most of which built their primary business in the road biofuel market and extended into marine bunker as the ISO 8217:2017 grades opened the market. The principal European producers relevant to marine bunker in 2025 are:

Argent Energy is a UK-based UCO and tallow methyl ester producer with capacity at Stanlow (England) and Motherwell (Scotland), totalling approximately 250,000 tonnes per year. Argent is a subsidiary of Royal Vopak and operates a UCO collection network across the UK and Northern Europe. Argent supplies bunker barges in Rotterdam, Antwerp, and the UK East Coast, with ISCC EU certification on every consignment.

ADM (Archer Daniels Midland) is a US-based agribusiness with global FAME capacity of approximately 700,000 tonnes per year, dominated by soy methyl ester from soybean crushing in the United States and Brazil. ADM Brazil supplies the South American bunker market and exports SME to European blenders.

Olleco is a UK-based UCO collector and FAME producer with capacity at Liverpool, totalling approximately 100,000 tonnes per year. Olleco operates one of the largest UCO collection networks in the UK, drawing from approximately 20,000 commercial kitchens, and is part of the ABP Food Group.

Greenergy is a UK-based fuel supplier with FAME production at Immingham (England) and Amsterdam (Netherlands), totalling approximately 700,000 tonnes per year of FAME plus larger fossil distillate volumes. Greenergy supplies marine FAME bunker to the UK East Coast, the Thames, and Northern European ports through its terminal subsidiaries.

Other European producers include Saipol (France, rape FAME), Verbio (Germany, rape and waste FAME), Munzer Bioindustrie (Austria), Avril (France), Cargill, Bunge, and Louis Dreyfus Company. Singapore and Asia-Pacific marine FAME runs through Vance Bioenergy (Malaysia), Apical (Indonesia), and smaller UCO converters in Singapore and Hong Kong. United States marine FAME runs through ADM, Renewable Energy Group (acquired by Chevron in 2022), Marathon, and Cargill.

The supply chain is organised around the certificate flow rather than the physical molecule. A marine FAME bunker delivered in Rotterdam may carry ISCC EU certificates from a UCO collector in Hong Kong, a transesterification plant in the Netherlands, and a blender in Antwerp, with mass balance accounting tracking the renewable allocation through the chain. The bunker buyer receives the Bunker Delivery Note plus the Proof of Sustainability, and the FuelEU verifier accepts the certified WtT figure as the operative emissions factor.

Commercial pricing

FAME pricing in the marine bunker market in 2024 to 2026 has clustered in a band of approximately 100 to 300 USD per tonne premium over fossil MGO, with the spread driven by feedstock category, certification chain, and contract horizon. Typical reference pricing in 2025 was:

UCOME marine bunker: approximately MGO + 200 to 300 USD per tonne. The premium reflects the limited UCO supply, the ISCC EU certification cost, and the high demand from road obligations under RED III.

Tallow-ME marine bunker: approximately MGO + 150 to 250 USD per tonne. Tallow ME is generally cheaper than UCOME because of slightly higher supply and slightly lower certification value, but the difference has narrowed in 2024 to 2025.

Rape and soy methyl ester marine bunker: approximately MGO + 100 to 200 USD per tonne. Crop-based FAME is cheaper than waste FAME but carries lower compliance value because of the higher WtT intensity and the 7 percent crop cap.

Palm methyl ester marine bunker: approximately MGO + 50 to 150 USD per tonne. Palm FAME is the cheapest grade but has limited compliance value because of the ILUC penalty and the 2030 phase-out, and is largely absent from European marine contracts.

The premium translates into a per-MJ basis as approximately 5 to 8 USD per GJ over fossil MGO for UCOME, against an LHV-adjusted equivalent of approximately 4 to 6 USD per GJ for the FAME mass-energy deficit (FAME LHV at 37 MJ/kg vs MGO at 42.7 MJ/kg). The total energy-cost premium is therefore approximately 9 to 14 USD per GJ for UCOME, comparable to the cost of EU ETS allowances at a CO2 price of 80 to 120 EUR per tonne.

The economic case for FAME bunker is the FuelEU compliance value plus the EU ETS abatement value. A UCOME bunker at 18 gCO2eq/MJ replacing fossil MGO at 91 gCO2eq/MJ delivers approximately 73 gCO2eq/MJ of WtW abatement, which monetises through the FuelEU compliance balance and the EU ETS allowance saving. At an EU ETS price of 100 EUR per tonne CO2 and a FuelEU compliance value of approximately 200 EUR per tonne CO2 of GHG intensity excess, the combined value of the abatement is approximately 200 to 300 EUR per tonne of fuel, which roughly offsets the 200 to 300 USD per tonne premium. The economic case is sensitive to the EU ETS price, the FuelEU compliance balance position, and the certification chain cost.

The 2024 to 2026 market has also seen the emergence of FAME-blend long-term offtake contracts between major container lines (CMA CGM, Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd) and FAME producers, which lock in supply at indexed pricing and provide certainty on the certification chain. These contracts typically run 3 to 7 years and are a structural feature of the marine FAME market in 2026.

2022-2025 marine pilots: CMA CGM, Maersk

The marine FAME bunker market has been driven by demonstration voyages and offtake programmes from major container lines, which have provided the volume base for the supply chain and validated the engine-compatibility envelope.

CMA CGM announced in 2022 a 30 percent biofuel blend programme on its container fleet, offering customers a tonne-for-tonne biofuel substitution at a per-container premium under the brand ACT with CMA CGM+. The programme operates on a mass-balance basis, with biofuel bunkered at Rotterdam, Antwerp, Marseille, and Singapore. By 2024 the CMA CGM biofuel programme had bunkered approximately 200,000 tonnes per year of FAME-blend (B30 equivalent) plus a parallel growing volume of HVO. The certification chain runs through ISCC EU and 2BSvs, with feedstock dominated by UCOME from European and Asian sources.

A.P. Moller Maersk has run a parallel biofuel programme since 2019, with 2022 to 2025 expansion. Maersk’s programme includes both FAME-blend and HVO bunker, with HVO favoured for higher blend ratios (up to 100 percent HVO in some demonstration voyages) and FAME used at B30 to B50 in the routine bunker rotation. Maersk’s ECO Delivery product offers customers GHG-reduced container shipping at a per-container premium. By 2024 Maersk had bunkered approximately 300,000 tonnes per year of biofuel (FAME plus HVO combined).

Hapag-Lloyd has a smaller biofuel programme launched in 2023, focused on B24 to B30 FAME blends with UCOME feedstock from European sources. ONE (Ocean Network Express), MSC, and Evergreen have operated demonstration voyages but have not yet committed to large-volume offtake programmes. Bulk carrier and tanker operators have run smaller-scale FAME-blend pilots driven by charter-party clauses (Cargill, Bunge, Trafigura).

The pilot data has consolidated the engine-compatibility envelope at B7 to B30 for routine commercial operation, with B50 to B100 available for specific endorsed engines. The OEM service letters from MAN Energy Solutions, WinGD, Wartsila, and Caterpillar Marine have been progressively updated, and the industry consensus has converged around B30 as the routine commercial maximum without engine modification.

The pilots also surfaced practical issues: fuel-quality variability requiring tighter bunker QC, bunker barge cross-contamination addressed through dedicated FAME barges, tank cleaning between fossil and FAME bunkers, and faster lube oil degradation on B30 to B50 requiring shorter change intervals.

Formula, assumptions, and limits

Formula

The well-to-wake intensity of FAME under MEPC.391(82) Annex 1 and FuelEU Annex II is computed as:

For sustainably certified FAME, the biogenic combustion CO2 is treated as zero, and the engine methane and nitrous oxide slip is negligible for diesel-cycle operation. The WtW intensity therefore collapses to:

Typical default values per feedstock under FuelEU Annex II:

For a B30 blend in fossil MGO:

with fossil MGO at approximately 91 to 92 gCO2eq/MJ.

Derivation

The WtT term aggregates upstream emissions across the feedstock cultivation or collection, transport, pretreatment, transesterification, methanol production, and distribution. Each stage carries an emission factor in gCO2eq per kg of feedstock or per MJ of fuel, and the stages are summed and normalised by the LHV of the FAME product:

For waste-feedstock FAME, the cultivation emissions are zero (residue allocation) and the WtT collapses to collection plus pretreatment plus transesterification plus methanol plus distribution. For crop-feedstock FAME, the cultivation emissions are the dominant term (fertiliser nitrous oxide, diesel for farming, transport to crusher, crushing energy), and the ILUC penalty is added as a separate line item per the GLOBIOM modelling.

The TtW combustion term is computed from the carbon content of the fuel and the combustion stoichiometry:

For FAME with 77 percent carbon content, this gives approximately 2.83 gCO2 per g fuel, which is biogenic and counted as zero on the WtW balance for sustainably certified FAME.

Assumptions

The MEPC.391(82) Annex 1 default values rely on:

1. Feedstock counterfactual: waste feedstocks are allocated zero upstream cultivation emissions; crop feedstocks carry full cultivation plus ILUC.
2. Methanol pathway: conventional fossil methanol from steam methane reforming, approximately 100 gCO2eq per kg. Bio-methanol or e-methanol would lower the WtT figure.
3. Process energy: average European grid electricity and natural gas heat, approximately 3 to 5 gCO2eq per MJ of FAME.
4. Allocation rules: byproduct glycerol allocated on mass basis (10 percent) or energy basis (5 percent); the choice changes the WtT figure by 1 to 3 gCO2eq/MJ.
5. Biogenic carbon: combustion CO2 from sustainably certified biogenic carbon is zero, on the basis that the carbon was sequestered during feedstock cultivation.
6. Sustainable certification: the WtW figure applies only with a Proof of Sustainability under ISCC EU, 2BSvs, or RedCert. Without certification, the bunker is treated as fossil distillate at the fossil default intensity.

Worked example

A vessel bunkering 1000 tonnes of UCOME-B30 in Rotterdam:

• Fuel mass: 1000 tonnes (1,000,000 kg)
• Blend: 300 tonnes UCOME plus 700 tonnes fossil MGO
• UCOME LHV: 37 MJ/kg, total UCOME energy: 300,000 kg × 37 MJ/kg = 11,100,000 MJ = 11,100 GJ
• Fossil MGO LHV: 42.7 MJ/kg, total MGO energy: 700,000 kg × 42.7 MJ/kg = 29,890,000 MJ = 29,890 GJ
• Total blend energy: 40,990 GJ

WtW intensities:

• UCOME: 18 gCO2eq/MJ (default certification value)
• Fossil MGO: 91 gCO2eq/MJ

Total WtW emissions:

Energy-weighted average WtW intensity:

Against 91 gCO2eq/MJ for pure fossil MGO, the B30 blend delivers approximately 22 percent WtW reduction. The reduction translates into FuelEU compliance value at the prevailing penalty rate of 2400 EUR per tonne of compliance balance excess.

Edge cases and limits

B100 operation: requires specific OEM endorsement, modified fuel-treatment, fluoroelastomer fuel-line seals, antioxidant additising, and shorter lube-oil change intervals. Most marine engines are not certified for routine B100 without plant-side changes.

Cold-region operation: palm and tallow methyl esters have cloud points above 10 degrees Celsius and are unsuitable for cold-region voyages without blending or tank heating. Soy and rape are workable down to approximately 0 degrees Celsius cloud point.

Storage age: FAME-blend bunkers older than 6 to 9 months risk oxidation, gum formation, and microbial growth. Operators should consume FAME-blend bunkers within this window or implement antioxidant and biocide protocols.

Mass balance limits: a bunker without a Proof of Sustainability is treated as fossil distillate at the fossil default intensity, eliminating the GHG benefit.

Uncertainty in ILUC: the GLOBIOM factors carry substantial uncertainty (95 percent CI for palm oil spans approximately 25 to 95 gCO2eq/MJ ILUC). The defaults are policy choices with embedded assumptions, not deterministic measurements.

Regulatory basis

The regulatory hooks for FAME WtW intensity are:

• MEPC.391(82) of 2023 sets the IMO Lifecycle GHG Intensity of Marine Fuels (LCA Guidelines) framework, with Annex 1 default emission factors for FAME pathways.
• Regulation (EU) 2023/1805 (FuelEU Maritime) Annex II sets the EU default WtW emission factors for marine bunker fuels including FAME.
• Directive (EU) 2023/2413 (RED III) provides the underlying sustainability framework, the Annex IX-A and IX-B feedstock taxonomy, the food-and-feed crop 7 percent cap, the UCO and animal-fat 1.7 percent cap, and the palm-oil phase-out by 2030.
• EN 14214 is the European specification for road FAME and provides the technical reference for FAME quality.
• ISO 8217:2017 introduced the marine FAME-blend grades DMA-7, DMB-7, RM-7, and RM-12; the 2024 revision consolidates and extends the FAME-blend treatment.
• ISCC EU, 2BSvs, RedCert are the voluntary certification schemes recognised by the European Commission for RED III compliance.

Common errors

1. Confusing FAME with HVO: the two fuels have different chemistry, specifications, marine compatibility envelopes, and production routes. See /wiki/per-fuel-wtw-hvo.
2. Ignoring ILUC for crop FAME: a vessel buying palm or soy FAME without ILUC may overestimate the WtW benefit by 30 to 50 gCO2eq/MJ.
3. Using fossil MGO LHV for FAME blends: the FAME LHV deficit means B30 by mass is approximately B26 by energy. Using fossil LHV for the blend overstates energy and understates WtW intensity.
4. Treating FAME as RFNBO-eligible: FAME is a biofuel, not a renewable fuel of non-biological origin, and is not eligible for the RFNBO multiplier under FuelEU. See /wiki/fueleu-rfnbo-multiplier.
5. Bunkering FAME without certification: treated as fossil distillate under FuelEU, eliminating the GHG benefit.
6. Storing FAME-blend bunkers for extended periods: oxidation and microbial growth limit storage life to approximately 6 to 9 months.

See also

• Per-fuel WtW intensity: HVO
• Per-fuel WtW intensity: VLSFO and MGO
• Per-fuel WtW intensity: HFO
• Per-fuel WtW intensity: Bio-LNG
• Per-fuel WtW intensity: Methanol grades
• Per-fuel WtW intensity: Ammonia grades
• Marine GFS methodology
• FuelEU GHG intensity formula breakdown
• FuelEU RFNBO multiplier
• IMO Net-Zero Framework
• Calculator: FAME WtW intensity
• Calculator: HVO WtW intensity
• Calculator: Fuel blend WtW intensity
• Calculator: MGO WtW intensity
• Calculator: FuelEU GHG intensity
• Calculator: GFI attained

References

The references list above provides the IMO, EU, CEN, ISO, and producer documentation for FAME marine bunker. The principal regulatory texts are MEPC.391(82) for the IMO LCA Guidelines, Regulation (EU) 2023/1805 for FuelEU Maritime Annex II, and Directive (EU) 2023/2413 for RED III. The EN 14214 specification (CEN) and ISO 8217:2017 (with the 2024 revision) govern the technical fuel specification. The ISCC EU certification scheme governs the mass-balance traceability chain. The producer documentation from Argent Energy, Olleco, Greenergy, and the major container lines (CMA CGM, Maersk) provides the commercial context for the marine FAME bunker market in 2025 to 2026. The CIMAC Working Group 7 guidance consolidates the engine OEM service letters and operational experience.

Related calculators

• e-Diesel / FT e-Fuel - Well-to-Wake
• VLSFO - Well-to-Wake
• LPG - Well-to-Wake
• LNG - Well-to-Wake by engine pathway
• HFO - Well-to-Wake
• Biodiesel B100 FAME - Core Properties
• Methanol - Well-to-Wake by pathway
• Hydrogen - Well-to-Wake by pathway

Related formulas

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• Biodiesel B100 FAME - Core Properties
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