MOL, partners launch study on biomethane production from animal manure

Japanese shipping company MOL has joined forces with five compatriot partners to study the production and utilisation of biomethane from animal manure from local dairy farms. The project partners include Hamanaka Town, JA Hamanaka, Takanashi Milk Products Co., Hokkaido Gas Co. and MOL’s ferry subsidiary MOL Sunflower.

Under the partnership, the companies aim to investigate biomethane from animal manure from local dairy farms in Hamanaka town, Hokkaido, where dairy farming is thriving. The six organisations will evaluate the feasibility of using all or part of the biomethane produced in Hamanaka Town to fuel factories and vessels.

Biomethane, also called renewable gas, is the purified version of biogas, produced from the breakdown of organic matter. It is considered to be a sustainable alternative to fossil gas. LNG on the other hand is primarily composed of methane and is derived from natural gas, which is a fossil fuel extracted from underground reservoirs. The natural gas is cooled to -162°C to liquefy it for easier storage and transportation. LNG has been under a lot of scrutiny in the maritime industry due to its well-to-wake GHG emission profile, especially methane leaks that ocurr during production, transportation, and combustion (methane slip). Biomethane can be used in the same applications as LNG, such as in power generation, heating, and as a transportation fuel, and is often considered a greener alternative due to its renewable nature.

Cattle manure has been recognised as a valuable resource for producing biogas and biomethane. Through anaerobic digestion, cattle manure is broken down by bacteria in oxygen-free conditions, producing biogas, which can be upgraded to biomethane. This process not only generates a sustainable energy source but also mitigates GHG emissions, as cattle are a major contributor to methane emissions. By capturing and converting this methane into usable energy, the process helps reduce the environmental impact associated with cattle farming.

MOL’s LNG investments

MOL has been a staunch supporter of the adoption of LNG across its fleet as part of its decarbonisation strategy. The company plans to launch about 90 LNG-fueled vessels by 2030. Earlier this year MOL Sunflower held a naming ceremony for the first of two new LNG-powered ferries that are being built at Naikai Zosen Corporation. The vessel is set for delivery in December 2024 and will enter service on MOL Sunflower’s late-night Oarai-Tomakomai route in early 2025. A second vessel will follow on the same route later that year. With these additions, the MOL Group will operate four LNG-fueled ferries on Japan’s east-west routes by 2025, including the Sunflower Kurenai and Sunflower Murasaki, which began service on the Osaka-Beppu route in 2023.

Other industry majors are also exploring biomethane. In 2021, CMA CGM launched its first low-carbon shipping offer powered by biomethane, as part of its broader vision to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. The company said at the time that 12,000 tonnes of guarantee-of-origin (GO) biomethane is enough to fuel the equivalent of two 1,400-TEU LNG-powered ships operating on the Northern European Balt3 line between St Petersburg and Rotterdam for a whole year.  The move was followed by a partnership with Engie in 2022 to co-invest in the Salamander project, aimed at industrial-scale biomethane production. Similarly, Hapag-Lloyd has dabbled in biomethane. As WCN reported in April, Titan Clean Fuels and STX Group bunkered 2,200 metric tons of liquefied biomethane (LBM) to a Hapag-Lloyd container vessel in Rotterdam, marking the company’s first use of LBM as a sustainable fuel, in what is the largest ship-to-ship bunkering operation to date.