Fossil Free Marine – on a mission to eliminate fossil fuel in waters

Last year was a serious proof of concept for us, and we are now ready for larger scale production. We have clients in Norway, Sweden, southern Europe and even the US already interested" says Karl-Oskar Tjernström.

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A warm summer day in 2022, Fossil Free Marine’s first unmanned floating station for biofuels was inaugurated at Lidingö outside of Stockholm. Karl-Oskar Tjernström, CEO and Founder, who was thrown in the water at the inauguration, is highly satisfied with the first boating season.

Modern drop-in biofuels are important in the solution of the private boating CO2 emissions problem. It is actually in many cases possible to keep using existing boats and just switch fuels without any notable differences. This is why Fossil Free Marines’ stations offer both biofuels and optional electrical charging. Boating, especially private boating, is taking of a far too large share of the Co2 emissions. Since 1990, emissions from pleasure boats in Sweden have actually doubled, and is increasing at a fast pace, completely opposite to all other traffic.

With more and more electrical boats developed and sold, there is an increasing need for high speed electric boat charging at sea. It is more difficult to travel on battery power on water due to the friction, therefore range is presently so much lower for a boat than for a car. We want to take part in helping to solve this” says Karl-Oskar Tjernström.

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Fossil Free Marine’s stations have further been EU approved for fresh water and therefore also possible to be installed on lakes, waters which are often even more sensitive and protected, and in need of a cleaner environment without fossil fuels.

Fossil Free Marine is now planning the second external round for capital. The company wants to recruit a commercial team to handle all enquiries, establish pilots in key markets, and develop the product further – especially to cater for the need for fast charging of electric boats. As the product in many ways is completely unique, the strategy is to go for global expansion already at an early stage. The US amounts to half of the world market for private boating. In this market, boats are bigger and in need of more fuel. Also boats in the US market, generally have a much higher average usage time, suggesting a huge potential.

There are several so called drop-in biofuels, for example HVO100 which is a 100 per cent renewable diesel with the exact same specifications as fossil fuel. It can be used as it is, but also in mixes. In Sweden, renewable diesel is made of 100 per cent renewable raw materials, for example waste from the fishing industry, or used frying oils from restaurants and the food industry. The fuel is completely clean, does not smell and does not contain any heavy particles.

This is just the beginning, and fossil free boating is the future. We are working with a highly scalable business mode, that can make boating sustainable all over the world. Right here, right now." concludes Karl-Oskar Tjernström.

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