Astomos Energy Corporation, Sustainable Energy Development, and Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK) have agreed to a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to jointly study the establishment of a project to effectively use organic substances generated on board ships as fuel.
With the signing of this MoU, the three companies will take initiatives aimed at addressing social problems and contributing to decarbonisation. Waste generated on board is normally stored on the ship’s deck and discharged at ports of call, where it is then collected. Through the process of transport and incineration of the waste, CO2 is generated. For example, around 5,000 litres of waste, mainly plastic dust, is generated from a large LPG carrier for every 45-day voyage between Japan and the Middle East.
To address this issue, NYK has agreed to an MoU with Astomos Energy, an LPG distributor, and Sustainable Energy, a company working to realise a recycling-oriented society by converting unused resources into energy, to start a joint study with a view to develop an organic fuel conversion business by installing Sustainable Energy’s ISOP system (ISOP) on board ships. ISOP generates biofuel from combustible garbage and other materials.
Sustainable Energy’s ISOP is an organic waste treatment system that converts waste into energy. ISOP can reduce CO2 emissions from the entire organic waste treatment process by converting the bio-components of the waste into fuel. ISOP is characterized by the fact that it does not require waste segregation. Also, its treatment system can be made smaller. By installing ISOPs on oceangoing vessels, CO2 emissions from marine transportation as a whole are expected to be reduced by utilising the treated bio-components as energy.
In addition, more onboard storage space can be made available through onboard processing of organic materials generated during the voyage. ISOP is thus expected to improve the working environment of seafarers in terms of sanitary conditions. The three companies will proceed with a joint study targeting completion of the onboard demonstration test and implementation of ISOP on a vessel by the mid-2020s.
