S7 Ep4: Daniel Gent, Marine Fuels Transition Lead, Soya Group

We ask what a sensible approach to decarbonisation can look like with the new Marine Fuels Transition Lead for Soya Group, which partly owns UECC, Wallenius Wilhelmsen and Wallenius Sol. Podcast highlightsDaniel argues that shipping companies should move ahead of regulatory requirements on decarbonisation and start integrating alternative fuels into their operations despite uncertainty around the IMO Net-Zero Framework. He warns that adopting a ‘sit back and wait’ approach risks creating knowledge gaps, which would lead to those companies being outcompeted in the longer term. He makes the case that ‘union is strength’ when it comes to decarbonisation strategies, both in terms of sharing learnings between individual companies and aggregating demand to send stronger demand signals to alternative fuels producers. Daniel also shares some key learnings from UECC’s experience trialling and adopting LNG and biofuels. He emphasises that pilots must be designed to generate ‘repeatable learnings’, as well as the importance of mastering data and certification requirements for the use of renewable fuels to be recognised by regulators. He also explains how the company achieved, five years ahead of time, its ambition of having 40% alternative fuels in its energy mix by 2030.Reflecting on whether using alternative fuels pays off in business terms today, he acknowledges that first movers are not consistently rewarded commercially yet, with the picture depending on whether each company’s customer base is prepared to pay for decarbonised shipping. However, he highlights that the benefits are ‘more strategic than financial’, and insists that being prepared to introduce alternative fuels is a pragmatic decision.