NYK recently participated in two conferences held as part of Tokyo GX Week to talk about the possibility of a demand increase for ammonia as a marine fuel and to introduce the company’s efforts toward social implementation of fuel ammonia, according to the company's release.
The International Conference on Fuel Ammonia, organized by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and the Clean Fuel Ammonia Association (CFAA), aims to strengthen the foundation for international public-private partnerships to build a stable and flexible market and supply chain for fuel ammonia, which would be effective in combating global warming.
This second conference, following the conference in 2021, was held on September 28, and was attended by more than 20 governments, international organizations, research institutes, and private companies.
NYK was the only conference participant from the shipping industry. Toshi Nakamura, NYK executive officer, spoke at the “Session 3: Industry Session” and introduced the below points under the theme of "Decarbonization of Shipping with Ammonia as Marine Fuel.”
- The expectation that demands for fuel ammonia as marine fuel will increase significantly in the future.
- The development of an ammonia-fueled tugboat and an ammonia-fueled ammonia gas carrier (AFAGC) by NYK and its consortium partners using the Green Innovation Fund. In particular, Nakamura introduced the receipt of a world-first AiP (approval in principle) for each vessel.
- NYK’s efforts and contributions to the establishment of the ammonia supply chain, etc.
The Innovation for Cool Earth Forum (ICEF) is an international platform organized by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO). The ICEF annual meeting has been held since 2014, and the ninth meeting was convened on October 5–6 in Tokyo with a total of 84 organizations participating. This conference brings together prominent experts from industry, government, and academia to engage in lively discussions with the aim of exploring innovation-based solutions to the urgent issue of climate change.
This was the first time for NYK to take part in this conference, and Tsutomu Yokoyama, general manager of the Green Business Group, made a speech titled “The Challenge of Achieving Net-Zero Emissions by 2050.” As Nakamura did at the Second International Conference on Fuel Ammonia, Yokoyama explained the progress of NYK's projects utilizing the Green Innovation Fund, including receipt of the AiP for the AFAGC, a recent major step forward. Yokoyama also introduced NYK's overall efforts to achieve its long-term goal of net-zero emissions of greenhouse gas (GHG) by 2050 for the NYK Group's oceangoing businesses.
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 SDGs through business activities. In March this year, 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.
In addition, NYK has launched its new "NYK GREEN EARTH" brand to emphasize NYK's ESG efforts to create new value initiatives for low carbon and decarbonization through green businesses such as the development of next-generation fuels, including ammonia and hydrogen.