In order to promote decarbonization efforts, there is a growing movement among companies to utilize alternative fuels such as waste oil.


Of these, the bus company in Saitama Prefecture is an alternative fuel made from cooking oil used at home, and has started operating buses this month.

Seibu Bus, which is headquartered in Tokorozawa City, Saitama Prefecture, began operating buses using alternative fuels on the route connecting Tokorozawa City and Shiki City from the 14th of this month.



This fuel is made from household cooking oil and discarded meat oil, which means that the current vehicle can be used as it is and used as a fuel instead of light oil.

Fuel costs are more than three times higher than light oil, but since waste oil is used, carbon dioxide emissions can be reduced compared to when light oil is used in total, including the manufacturing process. about it.



So far, only one bus runs on this fuel, but the company is considering increasing it further.



Kohei Watanabe, chief of Seibu Bus, said, "Because you can use the current bus as it is, it has the advantage of not requiring initial investment compared to fuel cell buses that run on hydrogen."



This fuel is also used in trucks that deliver products to major convenience stores, so while efforts to decarbonize are becoming an issue, there is a growing movement to utilize alternative fuels in the transportation and delivery industries. ..

Movement to introduce alternative fuels in the aviation industry

The movement to introduce alternative fuels made from waste oil is also widespread in the aviation industry.



Aircraft alternative fuel "SAF" made from plants and waste oil is said to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by about 80% compared to conventional fossil-derived fuels.



The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism has set a goal of replacing 10% of the fuel used by domestic airlines with SAF by 2030 because it can be mixed with conventional fuels.



With regard to SAF, there is a growing movement in Japan to establish a production and supply system through collaboration between the public and private sectors in response to rising global demand.