Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines has signed an agreement with Bio Driven of Canterbury, U.K., a start up company dedicated to the production of high quality, compliant Bio diesel.  Waste cooking oil from the Fred. Olsen cruise ships will be collected and transformed through a carbon negative process into a clean and efficient fuel.

David Chalk of Bio Driven said: “We use pioneering technology in our plant facility, ensuring our production process to be carbon negative.” Bio Driven is also a member of the Environmental Industries Commission and the Renewable Energy association.

The waste oil will be collected from the ships in Southampton and Dover, in special containers supplied by Bio Driven.  The product is then delivered to the plant in Canterbury where it is filtered, analyzed and washed, then put through a process that removes the glycerine.   The glycerine-free bio diesel created by this process is then dosed to remove any chemical impurities and undergoes a final polishing and filtration, before being packaged ready for supply as environmentally friendly fuel.

Matt Grimes, Director of Logistics for Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, said: “We are very excited to be working with Bio Driven, as we are always looking for ways to make our operations more environmentally friendly and to recycle our waste material, so this venture is a ‘win win’ situation for everyone.”

Bio Driven will also be donating 5p per litre (approximately 10 U.S. cents) to projects in Zimbabwe.