Quadrise PLC (AIM:QED) has agreed a new potential partnership, with Licella Holdings, to explore the use of renewable feedstocks in marine fuels.
Together the companies will assess the potential of Licella’s Cat-HTR bio-intermediate for use in Quadrise’s bioMSAR and bioMSAR Zero fuels.
It comes as Quadrise is about to enter commercial trials for its marine fuels, with shipping giant MSC.
The partnership will start in the lab, with testing slated to start in the Quadrise Research Facility. If successful, lab-scale diesel engine testing is expected within 12 months.
In the future, they may advance to third-party testing in marine diesel engines and commercial vessel trials by 2026.
“Fuels derived from biomass are potentially the most price competitive net-zero biofuel solutions, and HTL technology has been identified by the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon,” Quadrise chief executive Jason Miles said in a statement.
He added: “This collaboration aims to expand our range of feedstocks for bioMSAR and bioMSAR Zero as lower cost and lower emission alternatives to conventional biofuels."
Licella’s technology - hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) – uses water at high temperature and pressure to transform abundant biomass residues into an advanced bio-intermediate, which is described as “valuable, low-carbon alternative to fossil oil”.
Dr Len Humphreys, Licella's executive chair, described the Quadrise tie-up as an important step, as his company works to scale sustainable solutions to drive market adoption of its technology.
“Our low-sulphur bio-intermediate supports the global shipping industry's clean energy commitments while helping to decarbonise a hard-to-abate sector,” Humphreys added.