Results show the value of FuelEU pooling combined with LNG and LBM
With its verification by DNV, Titan Clean Fuels, part of Molgas, has successfully concluded its first pooling exercise for the compliance period 2025 under the FuelEU Maritime regulation. The Clean Fuel bunker fuel supplier has shared that its first FuelEU pool included several hundred vessels, both over- and under-compliant, balancing out operators with compliance deficit with those having positive compliance balances.
“The conclusion of this first pooling round is providing the proof of concept for our FuelEU pooling service, which we are aiming to roll out to the benefit of even more over- and under compliant vessels in 2026 and the following years,” said Grégoire Hartig, Commercial Director at Titan.
Titan manages the FuelEU Pooling process from end to end, including the provision of over-compliant LBM, accepting or excluding new vessels, and the verification of the pool by DNV. It takes full contractual responsibility along the chain. This means it can drive the generation of compliance and respond to bunker and pooling market dynamics. Its know-your-customer (KYC) processes also ensure all pooling counterparts fulfil their financial commitments and abide by sanctions.
As a bunker vessel owner, Titan also manages its own ships in the pool. In this pooling period, approximately 73% of the LNG consumption by Titan’s Optimus bunker vessel was liquefied biomethane (LBM/bio-LNG). Titan expects that to be about 100% LBM in the next pooling phase.
“Pooling was designed to provide a competitive advantage to all alternative fuels, with LNG and LBM in particular delivering on the regulation’s potential today. Our customers running LNG-fuelled vessels were able to benefit from their early investment into cleaner propulsion and several LNG fuelled vessels chose to run on LBM, backed by the value generated from pooling,” Hartig added.
According to Titan, this progress shows that the European Commission has designed and implemented FuelEU Maritime well. The pooling mechanism is an essential, flexible and well-thought-out tool that smoothly but firmly pushes the shipping industry’s transition towards low-carbon propulsion.
As shipowners and operators look to improve their environmental performance, create value and manage their exposure to the FuelEU Penalty, pooling is set to be a shipping trend to watch in 2026 and beyond.