THE RISING SUN OF RENEWABLES

HIGH-RANKING representatives of Canada’s biomass and forestry industries recently returned from the country’s second 2025 trade mission to Japan to bolster relationships with its energy industry.

The November mission to the Far East saw two Provincial forestry ministers, joined by First Nations leaders and Wood Pellet Association of Canada (WPAC) delegates, meet with Japanese trade partners and utilities. [1]

Canada’s ambassadors also visited Omaezaki Biomass Power Station on Suruga Bay, after it commenced operations to burn only wood pellets and palm kernel shells last January. [1] [2] [3]

Omaezaki’s power plant uses around 300,000 tonnes of biomass each year, a third of which is imported from Canada, to generate enough electricity to power 170,000 Japanese households.

Japan has emerged as a global epicentre for the adoption of biomass fuel, and most recently particularly black pellets, in its transition to green energy.

Canadian wood pellet exports to Japan grew eighteen-fold in ten years to 2024 – from CAD$11M to CAD$207M. The business envoys sought to extend that growth trajectory, as Japan holds firm on its pledge to reach carbon neutrality by 2050. [4]

The country also insists it will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 46 percent before 2030. And it intends to achieve that target by integrating advanced biofuels including steam-treated black pellets into its national grid.

Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) has a dedicated team to develop its standards for biomass inputs. [2] [5]

Hence, WPAC delegates were joined by Alberta’s Minister of Forestry and Parks Todd Loewen and British Columbia’s Minister of Forests Ravi Parmar in offering sincere assurances about the ethical sources of Canadian biomass fuel.

Japan’s growing appetite for black pellets isn’t accidental. It is the result of a nexus of four conditions including ambitious decarbonization targets, unique geographical necessity, the longevity of its existing coal infrastructure and a regulatory framework around its energy transition.

Each condition is explored in more detail below.

How Japan is using black pellets to meet decarbonization and carbon neutrality targets.

Japan’s climate targets are clear. The country intends to be carbon neutral by 2050 and, on the way, it will cut greenhouse gas emission almost in half by 2030. Japan’s METI guidelines consider burning biomass to be carbon neutral, as any CO₂ emissions generated were previously absorbed by trees during their growth cycle. [4]

Furthermore, it has rigorously assessed steam-treated black pellets over their life cycle, taking into account the minimal amount of energy needed to manufacture them, their high bulk density requiring fewer shipments and their lower processing requirements at furnace end. Correctly, in Japan’s eyes, steam-treated black pellets have a favourable carbon footprint.

Japan is a mountainous island nation with limited available land for large-scale energy storage. Its humid climate is hostile to traditional white and most torrefied pellets. Each can disintegrate when exposed to moisture - often requiring expensive sealed, climate-controlled silos and covered transport to stop them crumbling, rotting and creating hazardous dust.

Black pellets created by steam explosion are hydrophobic. They can be shipped and stored in the open air. This greatly reduces any need for investment into large capital infrastructure on scarce land resources at Japan's coastal ports and power plants. The superior bulk density of steam-treated pellets also reduces transportation costs as more energy can be transported per cubic meter.

How Japan is optimizing its coal infrastructure by using biofuel pellets.

Japan possesses a suite of high-efficiency, low-emission coal-fired power plants that are still relatively 'young'. Retiring these energy assets prematurely with multiple expensive logistical operations before replacing them with alternative energy infrastructure nationwide would also prove a costly and damaging exercise for Japan’s long-term economy. [5]

Steam-treated black pellets offer a viable drop-in solution for keeping Japan’s power stations running without the expense of plant retrofits required to burn traditional white and many types of torrefied wood pellets. Steam-treated black pellets also offer excellent grindability and more attractive co-firing ratios than other pellet biofuels considered.

The primary engine behind Japan’s biomass boom was its Feed-in Tariff (FIT) system, launched in 2012 following the Fukushima disaster to diversify the country's energy mix. These tariffs have provided the financial certainty that utilities needed to invest in advanced biofuels. Japanese FIT rates have paid more than ¥20/kWh for large-scale biomass energy.

Japan’s Energy Savings Act also requires large power stations to achieve a generating efficiency of at least 41 percent by 2030. Carbon-neutral biofuel pellets help them to meet these efficiency standards, while the country’s J-Credits Scheme allows utilities to earn industrial carbon emissions credits that can be sold to other Japanese companies to offset their own discharges. [5]

Japanese firms are securing offtake from pellet production facilities across the world to ensure a steady supply of advanced black pellets for their growing number of power plants.

Sumitomo Corporation, Tokuyama Corporation, Idemitsu Kosan, Kobe Steel and Mitsubishi UBE Cement among others compete for available supplies.

In doing so, they are helping Japan to turn specialized steam explosion technology key element of its energy economy  and a driver towards its long term carbon-neutrality goals.

As other nations move away from coal, Japanese biofuel adoption is becoming an appealing blueprint for other nations' energy and economic transition.

[1] Wood Pellet Association of Canada. (2025, December 8). Advancing Renewable Energy Partnerships in Japan. https://pellet.org/news/advancing-renewable-energy-partnerships-in-japan/

[2] Canadian Biomass Magazine. (2024, November 18). Canadian forestry delegation completes trade mission to Japan as pellet demand surges. Annex Business Media. https://www.canadianbiomassmagazine.ca/canadian-forestry-delegation-trade-mission-japan-2024/

[3] Nikkei Asia. (2024, January 15). Omaezaki Biomass Power Plant begins commercial operation in Shizuoka Prefecture. Nikkei Business Publications. https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Energy/Omaezaki-biomass-power-plant-begins-commercial-operation

[4] Argus Media. (2024, May 22). Japanese energy firms expand black pellet and biomass co-firing to meet METI efficiency targets. Argus Biomass Markets. https://www.argusmedia.com/en/news-and-insights/latest-market-news/japan-biomass-black-pellet-co-firing-growth

[5] International Energy Agency (IEA). (2021). Japan 2021: Energy Policy Review. IEA Policy Reports, Paris. https://www.iea.org/reports/japan-2021