Japan’s 1st trial of 100% HVO-based marine biofuel underway

Photo: NYK Group

Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK) and NYK Group company Shin-Nippon Kaiyosha Corp. have started a test navigation using hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), also known as renewable diesel, from Neste Corp. supplied by Itochu Enex Co. Ltd. in tugboats operated by Shin-Nippon Kaiyosha.

This is the first case in Japan of a 100 percent concentration of renewable diesel being used in a ship.

Photo: NYK Group

With increasing demand for reductions in greenhouse gases (GHG) emitted from ships by oceangoing shipping around the world, biofuels have attracted attention as a currently available alternative to heavy fuel oil.

The Neste renewable diesel used in the trial is imported to Japan through a contract that Itochu has signed with Neste.

Neste’s renewable diesel is a 100 percent renewable fuel product that is manufactured from waste cooking oil and animal fat that would not be used by the food industry. It can reduce GHG emissions on a life cycle assessment basis by about 90 percent compared to petroleum-derived diesel fuel.

In February 2021, NYK released the “NYK Group ESG Story,” which aims to further integrate ESG into the company’s management strategy and promotes activities that contribute to the achievement of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals through business activities.

This March, NYK released the updated “NYK Group ESG Story 2022,” which introduces initiatives for integrating ESG into the group’s management strategies set forth in the "NYK Group ESG Story" and provides a partial explanation of the group’s sustainable growth strategy from a long-term perspective.

To strongly promote ESG management, NYK says it will continue to create new value as a sustainable-solution provider.