Three major Japanese companies have joined forces to develop a “bioship,” a ship powered by biomass.
Tsuneishi Shipbuilding, Nippon Yusen, NYK Bulk Projects, and British renewable energy company Drax Group have signed an agreement to collaborate on the project, which will feature new ship technology that uses biomass pellets as fuel, according to Renewable Energy Magazine.
Biomass sounds like a futuristic concept, but it's actually one of the oldest energy sources in human history. Biomass is a broad category of renewable energy that includes wood, agricultural waste, and fertilizer. By definition, biomass is renewable organic material derived from plants or animals.
Drax biomass pellets are made from wood and forest waste, and according to its website, the company buys biomass in a variety of forms, including sawdust, logs and wood chips.
The concept of a biomass-fueled ship is a bit more complicated. This virtual bioship would contain a biofuel plant with a gasifier that burns biomass pellets. The burning of the pellets produces carbon monoxide, methane and hydrogen, which then fuel the generators that power the ship.
Biomass fuel plants could potentially reduce a given ship’s carbon pollution by 22%. International cargo shipping accounts for around 3% of global pollution each year, so even a small reduction in a ship’s carbon emissions could have a huge impact on the environment if widely adopted.
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“This initiative is part of our group's long-term goal of achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions from our ocean shipping business by 2050,” Shinichi Yanagisawa, an executive officer at NYK Line, told Renewable Energy. “In accordance with this MOU, our group is committed to providing our expertise in low-carbon and decarbonized maritime shipping, and will use the knowledge gained from this research and development to advance our efforts on various energy-saving technologies.”
“Drax aims to be carbon negative by 2030 and decarbonizing our supply chain is essential to achieving this goal,” added Drax chief commercial officer Paul Sheffield. “This MoU marks an important step in the development of the technology needed to power and launch the world's first bioship and not only supports Drax's decarbonization goals, it has the potential to drive the innovation needed to transform shipping and reduce carbon emissions and fuel costs in global supply chains.”
If the biomass technology proves successful, the companies could start building the bioship by the end of 2029, according to the magazine.
Other biomass breakthroughs are helping pave the way to a cleaner future: Scientists in Scotland and Australia have developed plans to introduce biomass power generation in India, Indonesia's state-run electricity company uses more than one million tonnes of biomass per year, and a company in Georgia is using biomass to make renewable jet fuel.
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