Wood pellet-powered vessels can reduce carbon emissions by 22% compared to ships using fossil fuels.
Japanese and British companies collaborate to develop wood pellet-powered cargo ships. (Photo: NYK Line)
Japanese shipping companies NYK Line, NYK Bulk & Projects Carriers (NBP), and Tsuneishi Shipbuilding are partnering with the UK renewable energy company Drax to develop the world’s first biomass-fueled cargo ship. According to a recently signed memorandum of understanding, the ship is expected to set sail by 2029.
This collaboration aligns with Japan’s shift towards green energy sources. Japan is moving away from electricity generation using fossil fuels to adopting low-carbon and renewable sources, while the demand for biomass pellets—often made from forestry waste and sawmill byproducts—continues to rise. These wood pellets are primarily imported from North America.
The new cargo ship will use wood pellets as fuel. (Photo: Daniel Lewis/VisMedia).
Drax produces biomass pellets in Canada and the southern United States. The company has long been transporting pellets to Japan through NBP. According to Drax, a crucial step towards achieving net-zero emissions is utilizing biomass—a renewable and low-carbon energy solution sourced from sustainable origins.
Sustainable biomass can significantly contribute to maintaining forest health. Well-managed forests can effectively capture CO2 from the atmosphere. Drax aims to achieve carbon negativity by 2030, and decarbonizing the supply chain will play a significant role in achieving this goal.
In this new project, the companies also aim to develop a biomass fuel processing system to power the ship. The system is planned to be installed directly on the vessel, using gasification equipment to burn biomass at high temperatures, producing gases such as carbon monoxide, hydrogen, and methane.
These gases will then be used to operate a generator, helping to power the ship while also supplying some internal electricity. Drax and its partners assert that the biomass fuel processing system could enable the new vessel to reduce carbon emissions by 22% compared to ships using fossil fuels.
