Now that Aderco has put verified emissions reductions on a tradable footing, Riviera spoke to its architects to understand how the savings are proven and why it took five years to get here
When Aderco unveiled its 2055G+ programme at the start of June, the headline almost wrote itself: a fuel additive specialist turning onboard performance into Gold Standard carbon credits, with early class verified savings of 4.84 per cent on a reefer and 3.25 per cent on a capesize already recorded. The more revealing story however lies beneath the announcement: what it takes to make a fuel saving indisputable, and why a technology that has existed for 15 years is only now being monetised.
The commercial logic addresses a gap the industry has endured for decades. Aderco’s 2055G additive reduces fuel consumption by 2–5 per cent. When layered over retrofits owners have already installed, such as an optimised hull, propeller boss cap fins or fresh coating applied at the last drydocking, the firm claims combined savings of 10–15 per cent.
“The methodology was proven not at sea but in the Australian outback”
These gains were always real but rarely rewarded. They were lost in the split incentive between the owner who invests in efficiency and the charterer who pays for the bunkers. “[Investing in our programme] is not just a way to monetise savings from Aderco, but from all the retrofits an owner implemented at the last drydocking,” said head of marine, Esteve Servajean. “All the benefits that have made Aderco successful over 45 years remain: better fuel quality, no sludge, no cat fines. On top of that, there is now a new revenue stream.”
