Design of a Horizon 2020 inducement prize for the promotion of renewable fuels in retrofitted container ships : proposal for a prize design

The study proposes a design for a potential Horizon 2020 inducement prize to promote the use of renewable fuels by retrofitting existing maritime ships. The design has been based on the current use of renewable fuels in shipping and barriers identified for the uptake. The focus is on advanced biofuels, because these provide a low cost drop-in alternative fuel in current existing engines, which are mainly running on Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO). The prize should demonstrate that a continuous large-scale use of advanced biofuels in commercial shipping is possible. Current pilot projects and first commercial applications do not show ocean-crossing voyages running all engines on 100% advanced biofuel on ships of sizes comparable to large container ships. The selection criteria shall ensure that large vessels are going to sail on 100% biofuels for at least 21,600 nautical miles for the purpose of this prize. Additional award criteria reward contestants that go beyond the requirements. This prize design presents a feasible challenge, which can contribute to the decarbonisation of maritime shipping by improving the level of knowledge on biofuel use, by increasing the visibility of these solutions and by stimulating the different stakeholders in the supply chain to work together to win the prize.