MOU Agreed to Develop ‘Bioship’ Technology and Plans to Construct the World’s First Biomass-Fuelled Ship

May 15, 2024

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(Drax) Leading Japanese companies, NYK Line (NYK), NYK Bulk & Projects Carriers (NBP), TSUNEISHI SHIPBUILDING Co., Ltd. (“TSUNEISHI SHIPBUILDING”) and British renewable energy business, Drax Group (Drax), have signed a new memorandum of understanding (MoU) to develop both the world’s first biomass-fuelled ship (bioship) and the technology that could power it.

New bioship technology would use gas from biomass to propel ship
MoU between Japanese and British companies contains plans to develop bioship by the end of the decade
Technology could decarbonise shipping of biomass pellets to Japan, potentially reducing carbon emissions by 22%

Rendering of bioship

Biomass is playing a growing role in Japan’s transition from fossil fuel power generation to low carbon and renewable electricity, and the country’s demand for biomass pellets, sourced primarily from North America and composed of sawmill and forestry residues, is increasing.

Drax produces biomass pellets in both the US South and Canada. The company has a longstanding relationship with NBP which transports its pellets to Japan.

These pellets are currently shipped through smaller handysize bulkers, which, due to the limited size of their fuel tanks, have proved challenging to switch to lower emission fuels, such as ammonia.

Through the MoU, which was signed at the British Embassy in Tokyo, the companies will initially conduct research to develop the new shipping technology, an on-board biomass fuel plant, which would be required to power a bioship. The four companies are exploring how other renewable technologies could be used to reduce both the emissions and fuel costs of shipping biomass.

The biomass fuel plant would use a gasifier to combust biomass at high temperatures and create and contain gases including carbon monoxide, hydrogen, and methane. These gases would then be used to power a generator which could propel the bioship and also provide a proportion of its internal power.

Biomass fuel plant system

The installation of a biomass fuel plant could see a 22% reduction in well-to-wake carbon emissions in bioships when compared to using fossil fuels. If this development is successful, the companies will jointly study the possibility of building a bioship by the end of 2029.

Shinichi Yanagisawa, Executive Officer of NYK Line, said:

“This initiative is part of NYK’s long-term target of net-zero emissions of greenhouse gas (GHG) by 2050 for the NYK Group’s oceangoing businesses. The NYK Group is committed to providing its expertise in low-carbon and decarbonised maritime transportation as per this MOU and will utilize the knowledge gained in this research and development to promote initiatives related to various energy-saving technologies. Through our strength in high-quality transportation services, we will continue to co-create value for society with our partners DRAX and TSUNEISHI SHIPBUILDING.”

Paul Sheffield, Drax Group’s Chief Commercial Officer, said:

“Drax aims to be carbon negative by 2030 and decarbonising our supply chain is critical to reaching this goal. This MoU is an important step in the development of the technology required to power and launch the world’s first bioship, which will support Drax’s decarbonisation goals but could also drive the innovation needed to transform shipping and cut carbon emissions and fuel costs in global supply chains.

“I’m looking forward to working with our partners NYK, NBP and TSUNEISHI SHIPBUILDING, to explore the potential this technology has to support global efforts to address the climate crisis. We are also exploring the role of other renewable technologies in delivering greener shipping.”

Masashi Suda, NBP’s President, said:

“Drax is a leading renewable energy company, and we are honored to be a part of this symbolic project to use its main products as environmentally friendly fuel in transportation of the products themselves. After study of biomass fuel plant and gasifier system, Drax, TSUNEISHI SHIPBUILDING, NYK and NBP have concluded a memorandum of understanding for the feasibility study on the development of the world’s first wood pellets-powered Super Low-Emission Vessel. This is important step towards decarbonised society for all concerned parties. NBP will continue to contribute to global decarbonisation together with its customers and partners. “

Kenichi Shibata, Managing Executive Officer of TSUNEISHI SHIPBUILDING, said:

“TSUNEISHI SHIPBUILDING focuses on reducing the global environmental impact in the design and construction of our vessels and has declared ourselves to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. For realising this aim and recognising ourselves to be a frontrunner of environmentally friendly yard, we are driving to develop and construct new fueled vessels which combining environmental impact reduction and economic efficiency.

“We are very proud to be involved in this project, which aims to achieve the world’s first maritime transport using wood biomass energy, in collaboration with NYK Line, NYK Bulk & Projects Carriers and Drax Group.

“This project is an attempt to implement ‘Creating the future, today’ as the TSUNEISHI Group slogan, and TSUNEISHI SHIPBUILDING will contribute by demonstrating our function as a shipbuilder for the project members.”

Scope of each company

Company	Role
NYK Line	Providing knowledge on decarbonising maritime transport
NYK Bulk & Projects Carriers Ltd.	Providing knowledge as a shipowner/operator on marine transportation of biomass pellets
Drax Group	(Project originator) Producer of biomass pellets
TSUNEISHI SHIPBUILDING Co., Ltd.	Providing technical expertise in ship design and construction and biomass fuel systems

Company overviews

NYK Line
Head office: Tokyo, Japan
Representative: Takaya Soga, President
Website: www.nyk.com/english/
Contact: NYKJP.ML.MEDIA@nykgroup.com

Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK) was founded in 1885 and is one of the world’s leading transportation companies. At the end of March 2023, the NYK Group was operating 811 major ocean vessels, as well as fleets of planes and trucks.

On March 10, 2023, the NYK Group released its medium-term management plan “Sail Green, Drive Transformations 2026 – A Passion for Planetary Wellbeing.” The NYK Group is promoting growth strategies with ESG at the core, based on the Group’s mission statement of “Bringing value to life.” and a new corporate vision for 2030, which reads, “we go beyond the scope of a comprehensive global logistics enterprise to co-create value required for the future by advancing our core business and growing new ones.”

NYK Bulk & Projects Carriers Ltd.
Head office: Tokyo, Japan
Representative: Masashi Suda, President & CEO
Website: https://nbpc.co.jp/en/
Contact: https://nbpc.co.jp/contact

As a member of the Nippon Yusen Group (NYK Group), we operate Handysize/Handymax bulkers, Conventional vessels (multipurpose vessels), Heavy-lift vessels, and Self-propelled deck carriers which are relatively smaller size for an ocean-going vessels in NYK Group. About 150 of this kind of vessels fit for all types of needs travel everyday across about 400 ports around the world, transporting an array of cargo to serve various customers in the world.

Drax Group
Head office: London, UK
Representative: Paul Sheffield, CCO
Website: www.drax.com
Contact: Andy Low, (+44)07841 068415, andrew.low@drax.com

Drax Group’s purpose is to enable a zero carbon, lower cost energy future and in 2019 announced a world-leading ambition to be carbon negative by 2030, using bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) technology.

Drax’s c.3,500 employees operate across three principal areas of activity – electricity generation, electricity sales to business customers and compressed wood pellet production and supply to third parties.

TSUNEISHI SHIPBUILDING Co., Ltd.
Head office: Hiroshima, Japan
Representative: Sachio Okumura, President and Chief Executive Officer
Website: www.tsuneishi.co.jp/english/
Contact: Communication Dept. TSUNEISHI HOLDINGS CORPORATION
Email: pr@tsuneishi.com

TSUNEISHI SHIPBUILDING (HQ: 1083 TSUNEISHI, Numakuma-cho, Fukuyama, Hiroshima, Japan) engages in shipbuilding and repairs, and is the anchor company of the TSUNEISHI Group, which conducts business mainly in the shipbuilding industry and maritime transport. With manufacturing bases in Japan (TSUNEISHI Factory, the HQ), Philippines, and China, the company builds bulk carriers, container carriers, tankers, etc.

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