Let’s continue our exploration of the maritime industry’s journey toward decarbonization. In this episode, we’ll investigate how innovative engine technologies can clear the waters for sustainable shipping. We welcome two experts from MAN Energy Solutions: Agustina Ramirez, a Process Engineer specializing in Energy Solutions and Shipping Decarbonization, and Nikolaos Kourtidis, a Senior Advisor in New Technologies and Dual Fuel Engines. They will share the latest advancements in dual-fuel engine...
Feb 20, 2025•1 hr 1 min•Season 6Ep. 6
The maritime sector has set sail to embark on its energy transition. But who are the stakeholders involved and how will they navigate the waters ahead? If you’re curious to learn those details (and the complexities that comes with it), then this episode is worth your ear time. Get onboard as we set out to demystify the world of shipping through a better understanding of its stakeholders, regulatory landscape, and the path ahead. Join Sylvain and Mikala as they welcome Femke Spiegelenberg from th...
Feb 05, 2025•53 min•Season 6Ep. 5
For more than a century, gasification technology has been used to convert coal into fuel. However, the technology is now pivoting towards the production of renewable fuels, converting renewable feedstocks like solid waste and biomass into pure decarbonization potential. But what should refiners consider before diving head-first into a gasification project? That’s what Sylvain and Mikala set out to explore through an in-depth look at the technology’s evolution, challenges, and prospects. They’re ...
Jan 22, 2025•47 min•Season 6Ep. 4
Southeast Asia’s 700 million people contribute to 4% of global energy usage. Today, a large part of this energy comes from coal, but the region is making significant strides towards renewable energy sources and increasing its renewable fuels production. In this episode, we explore what’s needed to scale up the deployment of new technologies for Southeast Asia's energy transition. Joining us are Nicholas Ong and Edmund Siau from GenZero, an investment platform company that aims to accelerate deca...
Jan 08, 2025•54 min•Season 6Ep. 3
Intermediate crops are worth our attention! With their recognition as a sustainable feedstock for renewable fuels by the EU’s Annex 9 in RED II, they have the potential to mitigate some of our feedstock supply issues. This episode is dedicated to a deep dive into their technical details. Sylvain and Mikala are joined by Saipol, an oilseeds processing company, and part of the Avril Group. Specifically, we have Bastien Le Bouhellec, Head of Biodiesel Trading Desk, and Guillaume de la Forest, Analy...
Dec 18, 2024•58 min•Season 6Ep. 2
What has happened in the past year within the world of renewable fuels? If you’re looking for the ultimate update on that, this episode is a must-listen! Topsoe’s own Product Line Directors, Milica Folic and Sandra Winter-Madsen, join Mikala and Sylvain to take the temperature on the 2024 realities of renewable fuels and the energy transition in general. They explore how the supply of various renewable fuel types has developed over the past year and how different regions across the world are pro...
Dec 11, 2024•59 min•Season 6Ep. 1
Allow us to introduce the fastest pathway to begin your sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production: co-processing. Co-processing renewable and fossil feedstock in your existing unit, enables you to kickstart SAF production without major revamps or large investments. Our own experience with co-processing dates back to 2004, so for this SAF Special we’ve called on the assistance of our own Ranoo Pathak, Senior Technical Service Engineer, and Ignacio Fabian Costa, Licensing Manager, to tackle the k...
Nov 27, 2024•46 min
For the first time ever, we dedicate an entire SAF Special to exploring the financial aspects of getting sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) projects off the ground. What are the challenges and opportunities in financing SAF projects? And what are the best strategies for reaching final investment decision (FID)? Sylvain and Mikala delve into these questions (and many more!) with the assistance of IFC – International Finance Corporation. They’ll talk to IFC’s Ladan Pazhouhandeh, Senior Investment Off...
Nov 13, 2024•45 min
Get ready for a much-needed deep dive into the science and chemistry of jet fuels to understand their impact! Since airplanes contribute to global warming through emissions of CO2 and soot particles from their jet fuel combustion, our understanding of jet fuel is crucial for our efforts to decarbonize aviation. Sylvain is joined by Patrick LeClercq, Head of Department Multiphase Flows and Alternative Fuels, at German Aerospace Center (DLR) to delve into the composition and combustion of jet fuel...
Oct 30, 2024•57 min
Decarbonization is driving us towards feedstocks that are completely different from the fossil feedstocks, we’ve spent decades studying. To fully understand the complexity of renewable feedstocks, and optimize their use in renewable fuels production, we must turn to analytical chemistry. In this episode, we uncover the challenges and techniques for analyzing renewable feedstocks, like fatty acids, waste oil and fats, and more advanced options such as pyrolysis oils and hydrothermal liquefaction ...
Mar 05, 2024•53 min•Season 5Ep. 6
When it comes to the production of renewable fuels, Latin America is a region filled with potential. With an abundance of easily accessible renewable resources like wind, sun, and biomass waste, and hosting well-advanced refineries and cost-competitive production opportunities, Latin America has the potential to become a key contributor to the global renewable fuels market. In this episode, we talk to Juan Pablo Freijo, founder and CEO of Sempen, and an expert in Latin America’s energy transitio...
Feb 13, 2024•41 min•Season 5Ep. 5
Step into the fascinating world of catalysts with us! Far from being mere commodities or utilities, catalysts are highly technological tools that are pivotal for renewable fuels production. In this episode, Sylvain dives deep into the role of catalysts in renewables with the help from no less than three Topsoe experts: Marie Grill, Principal Scientist for biobased chemicals, Fie Hallkvist Wilbek, Senior Business Development Manager in Digitalization, and Ignacio Fabian Costa, Licensing Manager f...
Jan 24, 2024•54 min•Season 5Ep. 4
We'll be peering into our crystal ball to explore which feedstocks will be used to produce renewable fuels in the future. Joined by Alastair Blanchard, Director for SAF at the ICF Consultancy, we’ll address a wide range of questions surrounding renewable feedstocks, including biogenic feedstocks and feedstocks for e-fuels. Are feedstocks truly the biggest bottleneck? What are the primary risks associated with feedstocks? And are regulations too strict or too moderate when it comes to feedstocks?...
Jan 04, 2024•52 min•Season 5Ep. 3
A life cycle assessment (LCA) is essential in comprehensively assessing the full environmental and social impacts of transportation fuels. This contrasts with many compliance models and regulations today which emphasize greenhouse gases alone – an approach which can result in ‘carbon tunnel vision’, where other crucial factors are neglected. Examining each step in the fuel’s life cycle – from cradle-to-grave – provides a complete overview of its true impacts. In this episode, Sylvain is joined b...
Dec 13, 2023•49 min•Season 5Ep. 2
The landscape of renewable fuels has changed significantly since we wrapped up season four. But one thing remains the same: renewable fuels continue to power ahead. Mikala and Sylvain are joined by their Topsoe colleague, Milica Folic, for a discussion of the main developments across the industry within the past year. They will cover the currently dominating fuel types and feedstocks, the most recent legislative changes, and an outlook on upcoming hot topics for the next year.
Nov 21, 2023•47 min•Season 5Ep. 1
Bill Gates established Breakthrough Energy in 2015 with the aim of funding technologies that can accelerate the clean energy transition and build a net-zero emissions future. Sylvain is joined by Mariano Berkenwald, Senior Associate at Breakthrough Energy, to discuss which efforts are needed to accelerate the deployment of at-scale production of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). They touch upon the need for more risk-tolerant capital, long-term off-take agreements with airlines, technologies that...
Oct 31, 2023•44 min
Jet engine producer, GE Aerospace, is supporting net-zero emissions in aviation by exploring disruptive designs for future engines. At the same time, they consider SAF an important measure for decarbonizing today, and are pushing for a standard that allows an increase in blend levels from 50% to 100%. Jeff Shaknaitis, Customer Sustainability Leader, and Brice Dally, Senior Staff Engineer for Sustainable Fuels, from GE Aerospace, join Sylvain to explain how they see the role of SAF in future avia...
Oct 17, 2023•56 min
With an ambitious goal of 45% emissions reduction by 2030, Norwegian Air Shuttle (Norwegian) is working on a wide range of actions to become a more sustainable airline. Joined by Anders Fagernæs, Vice President of Sustainability at Norwegian, Sylvain Verdier takes a closer look at the various efforts the airline is working on to achieve this target. Together, they cover the entire palette of sustainability at Norwegian, including their emissions reporting in scope 1 and 2, the challenges and opp...
Oct 02, 2023•49 min
Maritime transport is the last to start its decarbonization transition. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) and some key industry players are paving the way to minimize greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. But which fuels could be used to do so, when both the road and aviation segments are also on the same journey? In this episode, Sylvain will be talking to Anders Erlandson from the Technical University of Denmark and Nikolaj Knudsen from Topsoe about the future role of ammonia and methano...
Feb 06, 2023•52 min•Season 4Ep. 6
In the episode 4 we started the conversation about Fit for 55 – what are the goals and philosophy behind the legislation. In this episode, Sylvain continues this conversation with Adriana Guerenabarrena from Hydrogen Denmark and Ian Moore from Advisian. They will deep-dive into the future role of biofuels, eFuels and what these initiatives will mean for road transport, aviation, marine and also the industry in general.
Jan 22, 2023•54 min•Season 4Ep. 5
On July 14, 2021, the European Commission launched its largest regulatory initiative as part of the Green Deal: The Fit for 55 package. Some called it a seismic change. The proposed directives will basically affect the way Europe deal with energy, resources and transport until 2050. Since then, the RePowerEU program was also announced, and this adds another layer of complexity. The intricacy of all these initiatives is almost impossible to grasp. In this episode, Sylvain talks to Adriana Guerena...
Jan 09, 2023•48 min•Season 4Ep. 4
European refineries are under pressure to decrease their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and to produce high amounts of renewable fuels for transport and as feed for the PetChem sector. This is not a trivial challenge. But some refineries have implemented ambitious sustainability strategies in order to answer this call. In this episode, Sylvain talks to Michael Kraussler and Ventsislav Mishev from energy and chemicals company OMV about their decarbonization journey – past, present and future. The...
Dec 18, 2022•39 min•Season 4Ep. 3
North America have recently seen the implementation of highly ambitious initiatives to support the production of renewable fuels, especially for the road and aviation sectors. The Inflation Reduction Act, the potential change of the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) in California and the Canadian Clean Fuel Regulations are game changers for renewable fuels. In this episode, Sylvain talks to Tammy Klein from Future Fuels Strategies and Fred Ghatala from Advanced Biofuels Canada about the new mandat...
Dec 02, 2022•1 hr 10 min•Season 4Ep. 2
Welcome to season four of The Fuel for Thought Podcast. Since the last season the global renewable fuel industry has seen a surge in projects and Mikala and Sylvain are kicking off the new season with a discussion of what changes the industry has been through, and where it is headed. In this episode, they will share their thoughts on the current trends in the global renewable fuel market, touching on everything from legislation to hot topics – and much more.
Nov 17, 2022•56 min•Season 4Ep. 1
Production of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (especially HEFA-SPK) is done at industrial scale but what does it take to do so? In this episode, Sylvain talks to Jonathan Wood from Neste about their strategy within SAF production and they address a lot of topics ranging from feedstock to logistics, sustainability, the current legislative initiatives across the globe or even new types of SAF. Let us listen one of the leading companies within production of renewable fuels!...
Oct 13, 2022•45 min
Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) has been one of the top priorities of the aviation industry for a couple of years now - from airlines to fuel producers. But many myths are out there and may confuse some. In this episode, Sylvain talks to Oskar Meijerink from SkyNRG about eight popular myths about Sustainable Aviation Fuel – are they true or false? They will discuss topics such as “Is SAF sustainable and climate neutral?”, “Can airplanes fly with 100% SAF?” and “Am I emitting less CO2 when I fly ...
Sep 28, 2022•37 min
Welcome to the first episode of the SAF Specials podcast series – part of our Flight Plan Green initiative to help decarbonize the aviation industry. Sylvain Verdier, Senior Business Strategy Manager at Topsoe will be talking to Lars W. Andersen from Scandinavian Airlines Systems and Marie Louise Hansen from Copenhagen Airport to understand what they think of SAF. They will enlighten us about infrastructure, decarbonization strategies, prices and much more from an off-takers perspective. Fasten ...
Sep 14, 2022•53 min
The shipping industry is entering the decarbonization journey at full speed. Green fuels, blue fuels, biofuels…. where will the world take them? Several initiatives are currently in place at International Maritime Organization (IMO) and EU level, but will those be sufficient to drive the change needed? These are some of the questions we discuss with decarbonization experts Torben Nørgaard and Michael Maimann from the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping.
Dec 07, 2021•46 min•Season 3Ep. 6
As renewable fuel demand will increase significantly in the coming decades and sustainability criteria are getting more stringent, certification is becoming an even more important factor for the whole renewable fuel supply chain. In this episode, Sylvain welcomes Elena Schmidt from the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB), and Sascha Wüstenhöfer from International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC), for an extensive rundown on what it takes to keep renewable fuel production s...
Nov 23, 2021•55 min•Season 3Ep. 5
It’s no secret that when it comes to biofuel, feedstocks are worth their weight in gold - or more - and have the potential to become even more valuable as new legislation prioritizes increased renewable fuel production. In this episode, Sylvain discusses the feedstock market’s present conditions and future possibilities with Maryro Mendez from Vitol, covering everything from 1st-generation feeds such as rapeseed oil to innovative 3rd-generation opportunities for example wood-based pyrolysis oil....
Nov 09, 2021•50 min•Season 3Ep. 4
