Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd. (Tokyo) has commenced commercial operation of its newly constructed plant in Gia Lai Province, Vietnam, to produce black pellets (BP), a type of biomass fuel. The plant is Vietnam’s first commercial-scale BP production facility, and with a production capacity of 120,000 metric tons per year (m.t./yr), it ranks among the world’s largest BP plants. BP produced at this plant, branded as Idemitsu Green Energy Pellet (IGEP), will be supplied as an alternative fuel to coal, primarily to support Japanese coal customers’ decarbonization goals.
BP is a biomass-based energy resource made from materials such as wood that undergo thermal processing. While BP emits CO₂ during combustion, wood used as a raw material absorbs CO₂ through photosynthesis in the growth process, resulting in a net “carbon-neutral” status. IGEP is specifically designed to meet the decarbonization needs of customers currently using coal.
Since 2020, Idemitsu has operated a small-scale BP demonstration plant in Vietnam. During this time, trial batches of IGEP have been supplied to approximately 20 companies in Japan, where it has been evaluated as a viable alternative fuel to coal. IGEP is a high-calorie fuel made from torrefied wood pellets. Compared to other biomass fuels, IGEP offers handling properties similar to coal, enabling a smoother transition without requiring major modifications to existing facilities of coal customers.