Kuehne+Nagel is backing 1,000 tonnes of Hapag-Lloyd biofuel for Asia-Europe shipments under a book-and-claim model, reports Hapag-Lloyd.

The agreement covers about 3,300 TEU of freight on the East Asia-North Europe lane between April and December 2026. It is the first joint sustainable fuel deal between the two companies and involves waste-based marine biofuel meeting EU RED III sustainability criteria.

Hapag-Lloyd stated that the volume should deliver verified savings of 2,979 tonnes of CO2e on a well-to-wake basis. Under the book-and-claim model, the biofuel is burned elsewhere in the fleet, with verified emission reductions allocated to Kuehne+Nagel for Scope 3 reporting.

This model has become standard in shipping decarbonisation because alternative fuels are not available at scale at every port. It allows carriers to concentrate biofuel use where bunkering is practical while tying demand to verified consumption.

The 3,300 TEU covered is a small share of either company's overall activity, but the deal reflects a wider pattern of forwarders and carriers pre-purchasing lower-emission fuel volumes to build demand ahead of tighter regulation and customer reporting requirements.

Hapag-Lloyd has set a target of net-zero fleet operations by 2045, while Kuehne+Nagel aims for net zero across its value chain by 2050.