Sunoil and BFT have converted the Birjo II barge to operate entirely on 100% biodiesel, in a move aimed at cutting emissions from inland waterway transport, biofuels international reported.
Owned by DK Shipping, the Birjo II transports biofuels on Dutch inland waterways. It mainly carries biodiesel from Sunoil’s production facility in Kampen to storage sites and also makes direct deliveries to customers.
The conversion allows the vessel to use B100 instead of fossil fuel without replacing its engine. Sunoil said this can reduce CO₂ emissions by up to 90% while allowing the barge to continue normal operations.
The companies said the Birjo II is among the first barges in the world capable of operating fully on 100% biodiesel.
The project is part of the long-term cooperation between Sunoil and BFT and is intended to demonstrate that existing inland vessels can be converted to use renewable fuels.
The barge can now be fuelled directly at Sunoil’s Kampen facility, linking fuel production, transport and final use in a single renewable fuel chain.
“What makes this project especially valuable for Sunoil is that Birjo II now operates on our own biodiesel while transporting renewable fuels between our locations and customers,” said Jeroen Hovius, chief commercial officer at Sunoil.
He said the partnership with BFT was focused on practical measures to make inland shipping more sustainable and could support the conversion of more barges to B100 across Europe.
