Toyoda Gosei trials renewable diesel in Japan

Photo: Toyoda Gosei

Toyoda Gosei Co. Ltd. announced Oct. 12 that it has participated in a field trial to demonstrate the utility of renewable diesel fuel in distribution by group company TG Logistics Co. Ltd.

The company said it wants to cut CO2 emissions in distribution to help achieve its long-term environmental target of carbon neutrality over the entire supply chain by 2050.

The field trial was conducted in collaboration with Itochu Enex Co. Ltd., which is building a supply chain for renewable diesel transport and refueling in Japan.

TG Logistics provided one truck that uses renewable diesel for the trial.

This truck travels approximately 3,000 kilometers each month on a route linking two distribution centers in Japan, one in Ichinomiya City and the other at the Port of Nagoya.

Use of renewable diesel for this distance is equivalent to a CO2 reduction of about 26 tons per year.

TG Logistics currently has 55 trucks.

Based on the results of this field trial, the company said it will consider full-scale adoption of renewable diesel.

The Toyoda Gosei Group said it will continue to cooperate with its suppliers and others in working toward carbon neutrality by 2050.

Renewable diesel is manufactured from used cooking oil and other low-carbon feedstocks and can cut CO2 emissions by 90 percent compared to petroleum-derived fuel.

The CO2 emitted during use is equivalent to the amount of CO2 absorbed during the growth of the plants that serve as the raw materials of these cooking oils, and so the total amount of CO2 in the atmosphere is not increased, the company noted.

Renewable diesel can also be introduced without changes to the vehicles or refueling systems.