Quadrise PLC (AIM:QED) told investors it has signed a services supply agreement with MAC2 Solutions NV, which will support the upcoming marine fuel trial.
The trial, with the MSC Leandra V vessel, is due to start in the second quarter.
MAC2 will provide jetty space, utilities, permits, and support at its facility in Antwerp, Belgium.
Its envisaged in the deal that, in the future, Quadrise and MAC2 will establish a permanent commercial supply of MSAR and bioMSAR fuels to MSC and other shipping companies via the Port of Antwerp-Bruges.
Another contract, with Cargill BV, is currently being worked on ahead of the trial - covering toll manufacturing.
"We are pleased to have signed this services agreement with MAC2 to progress our plans for supplying MSAR and bioMSAR to the marine sector from Antwerp-Bruges,” chief executive Jason Miles said in a statement.
“We look forward to working with them as we prepare for the trials on the MSC Leandra V in Q2 2025 and to a successful longer-term partnership as we progress to commercial supply."
At the start of the trial, the MSAR fuel will be used by the MSC Leandra V and later the trial will switch to bioMSAR.
During the trial, performance baseline tests will be undertaken.
Altogether, the vessel will see 4,000 hours of operation using the fuels over six to eight months.
The goal of the trial is to obtain ‘a letter of no objection’ from the vessel’s engine manufacturer, Wärtsilä – thus unlocking a commercial scale-up in the use of diesel-alternative fuels in the shipping sector.
Tom Fraine, analyst at stockbroker Shore Capital, in a note, commented: "We are pleased to see the confirmation of the agreement and the reassurance that Quadrise remains on track to commence its trials with MSC, the world leader in global container shipping, in the coming months.
"We believe the opportunity with MSC alone could be huge relative to Quadrise’s current enterprise value, noting that MSC currently consumes close to 10m tonnes of fuel oil annually and we believe Quadrise could charge c.$50 per tonne for the use of its technology."