RUNNING ON THE SMELL OF … DEAD FISH
“I believe we have just seen the beginning of what in a few years will be a huge sector.”
Norwegian cruise ship company Hurtigruten plans to use dead fish to power its ships.
The company operates a fleet of 17 ships in the Arctic and Antarctic – both very fragile environments. This new initiative will see the vessel’s engines use biogas manufactured from the leftovers of fish processing – a bid to reduce greenhouse emissions. The 125-yearold company will also ban single-use plastics to lift its environmental sustainability.
Mixed with other organic waste, the fish leftovers will generate biogas, which will then be liquefied and used in place of fossil fuels. Conventional fuels used by the shipping industry are widely-regarded as even more polluting than those used in land-based vehicles.
Biogas is easily generated from organic waste by accelerating the natural decomposition process to capture the methane produced. Organic waste is often dumped in landfills where it contributes to greenhouse gas emissions as it decomposes.
Says Hurtigruten CEO Daniel Skjeldam: “Norway is a large shipping nation, but fishery and forestry are also large sectors. They create jobs and produce income, but they also produce a lot of waste products. The steady access to high volumes of organic waste gives the Nordic countries a unique position on the biogas market. We are pushing for more innovation, more investment. I believe we have just seen the beginning of what in a few years will be a huge sector.”
By 2021 the comapny aims to have converted at least six of its vessels to use biogas and large battery packs, capable of storing energy produced from renewable sources.