A group of seven companies today announced the completion of a successful the trial using liquefied bio-methane (LBM) derived from cattle manure as marine fuel on the domestic LNG fueled vessel Ise Mirai in Ise Bay. This marks Japan's first use of carbon-neutral LBM derived from biomass, according to MOL's release.
Teaming up on the project were Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd., Air Water Inc., Techno Chubu Company, Ltd., Kyoudou Kaiun Co., Ltd., MOL Coastal Shipping, Ltd., Cenergy Co., LTD, and IHI Power Systems Co., Ltd..
The trial was conducted based on a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between MOL and Air Water in February 2023, with the cooperation of other parties.
In the trial, Air Water supplied LBM produced from cattle manure in the Tokachi region of Hokkaido as part of a technology development and demonstration project adopted by Japan's Ministry of the Environment. All the parties involved confirmed the following through ocean transport of JERA's cargo.
LNG fuel is expected to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by about 25% compared to conventional fuel oil, but further reduction of CO2 emissions can be expected through the partial use of LBM, a carbon-neutral energy source. In addition, because the main component of both LBM and LNG is methane, the existing LNG supply chains can be used, so LBM can be an effective solution to achieve low-carbon and decarbonized ship operations.