Maersk will launch a new pilot by utilising renewable diesel to provide immediate carbon emission reduction, aiming at sustainable intermodal transportation in Japan.
This constitutes the first permanently fixed green solution for short-distant container transportation in the country and is planned to reduce carbon emissions for container drayage operations by up to 80%, based on lifecycle analysis.
The renewable biodiesel is sourced from Itochu Corporation/Itochu Enex that uses International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) certified used cooking oil as feedstock. The fuel is then imported into Japan and put into specific container drayage trucks to carry containers of customers who purchased the service from Maersk, according to a statement.
“At Maersk, we are accelerating our efforts to decarbonise marine operations, and our sustainable drayage pilot can bring significant sustainability benefits to our customers in Japan,” stated Toru Nishiyama, Managing Director of North East Asia Area at A.P. Moller – Maersk.
Initially, the pilot will be launched in the Yokohama Kanagawa area providing drayage connections to and from the Yokohama port, with plans to expand the solution to another two Japanese towns, Kobe and Nagoya, over the next couple of years.
“With this pilot, we are honoured and humbled to pioneer a much-needed area of the supply and transport chain, listening to and serving our customers in a cleaner, better way,” said Francisco Betancourt, Director of North East Asia Product Management at A.P. Moller – Maersk.
