On December 3, Idemitsu Kosan announced that, in cooperation with Kanematsu, it had begun supplying bio-blended fuel to ocean-going vessels, becoming the first domestic oil refiner to do so.
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Bio-blended fuel is a mixture of heavy oil and "fatty acid methyl ester (FAME)," a biodiesel fuel produced by reacting used cooking oil with methanol.
From 2023 to 2024, Idemitsu Kosan conducted operational tests on domestic vessels in Hokkaido with the aim of commercializing bio-blended fuel. In Hokkaido, a cold region, there are challenges such as the fuel tending to solidify at low temperatures, but they have confirmed that it is possible to operate with the same equipment and conditions as before even when using bio-blended fuel.
As the next step in this initiative, we will utilize the offshore shipping facilities of Kanematsu Oil Tanks, a subsidiary of the Kanematsu Group, to establish a supply system for bio-blended fuel.
Idemitsu Kosan has already begun supplying its bio-blended fuel to shipping companies such as Kawasaki Kisen, and aims to supply a total of 5000 tons of bio-blended fuel by March 2026, including for domestic vessels (equivalent to the amount of fuel used by a large vessel with a deadweight tonnage of 300,000 tons for approximately 50 days of operation).
Going forward, based on demand trends for bio-blended fuels, the company will consider transitioning to a supply system that can accommodate increased supply. Furthermore, in addition to bio-blended fuels, the company aims to establish a domestic supply system for e-methanol, a fuel produced using CO2 as a raw material, for use as marine fuel.
