Sustainable marine fuels pilot program launched in Florida

In Florida, the National Marine Manufacturers Association, alongside partners Suzuki Marine, Hyperfuels and LyondellBasell, held an event to launch the first-ever pilot program for sustainable marine fuels at St. Andrews Marina in Panama City, FL, on the heels of new research investigating the porfolio of technologies to further reduce the 0.1% of global carbon emissions from recreational boating. The pilot program makes new high-performance, 93 octane, ethanol-free premium gasoline available to boaters for the first time at a local marina.

Because of the variety of diverse boat types and their varied use cases, recent research shows there’s no one-size-fits-all solution to reduce carbon emissions in recreational boat propulsion. However, with an estimated 12 million recreational boats on the water today in the U.S. and with recreational boats having a lifespan of as many as 50 years, sustainable marine fuels can provide immediate carbon emissions reductions from existing boat propulsion systems. Sustainable marine fuels are made from cooking oil waste, animal fats, plant-based materials and other green refining methods and can be “dropped in” to powerboat engines without changes or modifications to the current fuel systems.

Beginning in July, Purfuels™ gasoline, a partially renewable gasoline produced by Hyperfuels, will be available at St. Andrews Marina in Panama City, Fla. Florida is the number one boating state in the U.S., with more than one million registered boats and generating $31 billion for the state’s economy annually. The pilot program, in partnership with Suzuki Marine, a multinational mobility manufacturer, will help identify the process and systems needed to ship, store and distribute sustainable marine fuels, so this information can help shape distribution models around the country and globe.