Scripps Institute successfully runs research vessels for a year on NEXTBTL

In California, harnessing the University of California’s leadership in sustainability and pledge to become carbon neutral by 2025, Scripps Institution of Oceanography Associate Director Bruce Appelgate had a bright idea: What if Scripps Oceanography at UC San Diego began using 100 percent renewable diesel fuel, or biofuel, to power its research vessels? Renewable biofuel is nearly carbon-neutral and produces cleaner emissions, thus decreasing greenhouse gas emissions and improving air quality relative to fuels derived from petroleum.

Scripps operates one of the most capable research fleets in the world, which includes three research vessels and one floating research platform. These seagoing vessels, powered by diesel fuel, venture worldwide as the scientists and students on board conduct important research to understand and protect the planet. A noble experiment with biofuel marked the start of a new chapter in sustainability for the Scripps fleet.

In 2014, Scripps received a grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to test the use of biofuel on research vessel Robert Gordon Sproul for more than a year, during which time it had the honor of being the greenest ship in the academic research fleet. Spearheaded by Appelgate and co-led by Scripps atmospheric scientist Lynn Russell, the biofuel project investigated the viability of using hydrotreated renewable diesel fuel (HRD) on a long-term basis.

The Scripps researchers originally wanted to test renewable biodiesel produced from algae, but no manufacturers made algal biodiesel in the volume needed. Appelgate was able to take advantage of a newly-established reliable supply chain for another type of biodiesel, a hydrogenation-derived renewable diesel (HDRD) called NEXBTL Renewable Diesel purchased from Neste Oil Corporation.