Japanese general trading company ITOCHU Corporation and marine biofuel supplier GoodFuels on Wednesday (18 May) announced a new partnership agreement to scale sustainable marine biofuel in Singapore, Japan and Asia-Pacific.

This new strategic partnership will enable the two companies to build the market and the supply chain necessary for wider adoption of marine biofuel.

This long-term partnership, which was signed on 12 May 2022, will combine ITOCHU’s mature trading and supply operations and developed client base with GoodFuels’ deep expertise in sustainable biofuels, extensive client and sourcing portfolio and strong sustainable impact brand. 

Under the partnership, ITOCHU will be responsible for logistics, blending and distribution, whilst GoodFuels will mainly be responsible for sourcing, production, technical expertise and brand marketing. Both parties will share responsibilities in sales and marketing and work jointly towards scaling capabilities in production and sourcing.

ITOCHU and GoodFuels will initially focus on the supply of sustainable marine biofuels to all Singaporean territorial waters, waterways, and harbours, as well as prospective customers transiting the Strait of Malacca. Then, in the second phase of the partnership, the companies plan to scale up deliveries to the wider Asia-Pacific region, including Japan.

ITOCHU is actively engaged in the wholesale, distribution, and bunkering of petroleum products in both Singapore and Japan, while GoodFuels specialises in the sourcing, development, production, and delivery of sustainable marine biofuels with a presence in the Netherlands and Singapore. 

GoodFuels’ sustainable marine biofuels deliver an 80-90% well-to-exhaust reduction of CO2 emissions for oceangoing vessels. 

They require no technical changes to the tanks or engines and are produced from independently certified renewable feedstocks that cannot be used for any higher quality application or recycling.

Ted Tanaka, Managing Director of ITOCHU Petroleum Singapore, the flagship energy trading arm of ITOCHU, said: “Partnering with GoodFuels is a significant step forward for meeting our customers’ needs for low carbon fuels. We will steadily respond to the changing environment from a customer-oriented perspective by working with GoodFuels to build an integrated supply chain for sustainable marine biofuels.”

Dirk Kronemeijer, CEO of the GoodNRG Group, said: “As GoodFuels looks to further scale up its presence in Asia-Pacific and respond to growing demand for sustainable marine biofuels in the region, we knew that we had to find partners whose competencies and values match with our own mission to bring about a better world.” 

“This new, long-term partnership agreement with ITOCHU will help us to fulfil our joined ambitions and enable more shipowners in Singapore and Japan to immediately accelerate their decarbonisation efforts via our advanced marine biofuels.”

“Moreover, ITOCHU’s expertise in the marine fuel market and experience with other low carbon marine fuel solutions will be invaluable as we look to enable two of the world’s most important maritime nations to deploy our advanced biofuels and reduce carbon emissions from shipping.”

“Now, the next step begins. Today, we call on the industry, our clients, and partners to join us in making the market for low carbon marine fuels in Asia, above and beyond the pace of regulation. At the same time, we will continue to work with governments and port authorities in the region to support them as they scale up measures that lay the pathway for truly sustainable low carbon fuels.”

Jing Xieng JX Han, General Manager GoodFuels Asia Pacific and manager of the partnership said: “We are excited to begin working together with ITOCHU to scale uptake of our sustainable marine biofuel in Singapore, Japan, and Asia-Pacific. This partnership will give us the distribution and sourcing power we need to service both our loyal existing and new local client base in the best possible way across Asia.”

Photo credit: Shaah Shahidh on Unsplash
Published: 19 May, 2022