NYK breaks ground on in-house biofuel-testing facility

NYK held a ceremony Jan. 29 to break ground at a site in Chiba Prefecture in Japan where the company will install a test-engine facility to evaluate the safety of biofuels and accelerate their practical application.

The test engine will be a reused generator from the tugboat Sakigake, which is currently being converted to an ammonia-fueled tug.

The NYK Group will complete the installation of the test engine in June and analyze the biofuel in combustion tests over the next three years.

NYK Group companies Boltech Co. Ltd. and Nippon Yuka Kogyo Co. Ltd. will also participate in this project by utilizing their engine-operation and fuel oil-analysis technologies to verify the potential of various biofuels.

Biofuels are produced from various raw materials, including grains and waste cooking oil, but only a few are currently being commercialized in Japan, according to NYK.

More types of biofuels are expected to be commercialized in the future as demand for biofuels increases.

However, about a year of testing and analysis at an external engine facility, followed by 12 months to 18 months of onboard trials are needed before continuous shipboard use of new fuels.

NYK expects to shorten the test period and the time until the new fuel can be used on board by owning and operating the test engine.