Danish shipping major Maersk has inked a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Progression Industry pertaining to the development and purchase of lignin-based biofuels.

As per the agreed terms, Maersk will purchase 50,000 tons of biofuel from Progression, provided the latter can produce lignin based fuel that meets Maersk’s criteria.

Maersk oil trading spokesperson Peter Normark Sørensen remarked that lignin has a wide range of industrial uses because of its chemical characteristics, energy content and its abundance, but its capacity as a marine diesel fuel is yet to be analyzed.

The company will also be part of the Biomass for the 21st Century project that is being co-funded by the Danish National Advanced Technology Foundation and will also DONG Energy and several other companies and academic institutions.

This project, lead by Claus Felby – a professor at the University of Copenhagen, will also focus on the production of marine fuel using lignin and also other sustainable sources of biofuel.

"If either of these projects is able to make a biofuel that meets our requirements that would be very exciting and could let the industry and markets focus on the challenges that would follow — the scale and logistics required to make it a commercial alternative," added Sørensen.