Bio Eneco to supply PKS to Thailand’s Berkana Power

: Biomass
26/01/22

Malaysian palm kernel shell (PKS) producer Bio Eneco has signed an agreement to supply 10 shipments of PKS to Thailand-based energy firm Berkana Power.

Bio Eneco will supply around 100,000t of Green Gold Label (GGL) certified PKS in 2026 under the agreement signed on 21 January. The cargoes will be shipped on vessels or barges, depending on purchase order requirements. Purchase orders will be made at least 90 days before the first day of loading.

Berkana Power procures and sells a wide range of fuel including PKS, wood chips, wood pellets and coal from Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam.

Pricing of PKS shipments will be reviewed every three months. The agreement comes with an option for automatic renewal, subject to negotiations between the two companies.

Bio Eneco has similar supply agreements with Japan and Indonesia. It signed a 15-year pact with Japanese trading firm JFE Shoji's subsidiary in Malaysia in November 2024, to supply 150,000t of GGL-certified PKS. Bio Eneco signed another supply agreement for 150,000t of GGL-certified PKS with Indonesian biomass trading firm Orion in September 2024.

By Nadhir Mokhtar

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26/01/21

Turkish biochar production plant starts up

London, 21 January (Argus) — The first two units of the Turkish bioenergy firm Kurtbey Enerji's biochar production plant in the western city of Edirne started operations in January. The plant is set to remove around 10,000t of CO2 equivalent (CO2e) annually from the atmosphere during its first phase. Kurtbey has applied for accreditation with carbon registry Isometric and expects to issue its first carbon removal credits in April 2026, the firm told Argus . Adding that the generated credits would have a permanence level over 200 years. Both units are now fully operational and the company aims to gradually build and bring on line 12 identical units in total by 2028, which would have a carbon removal potential of around 60,000t CO2e/yr combined. The two commissioned units have a capacity of 8 t/d of physical biochar production, fed by 24 t/d of agricultural biomass — namely rice husk and sunflower seed shells. The plant was "strategically" located in Edirne, near the border with Greece, which is one of the largest sunflower and rice production regions, to be able to source its feedstock fully locally. The plant was designed to operate independently from the grid, with most of the operational energy demand met through the syngas generated during the pyrolysis process, with pyrolysis oil planned to be integrated into the system in later phases, Kurtbey said. The facility holds the European Biochar Certificate, which will enable the physical biochar it produces to be used in agricultural and livestock applications across Europe. In the first six months of production, a part of the physical biochar produced will primarily be allocated to pilot applications in the seedling and nursery sector. And a significant portion of the biochar produced in the short term will be distributed free of charge to local farmers. As additional units are commissioned and production scales up, Kurtbey aims to sell biochar to the European markets, targeting agricultural and livestock applications. The company expects to receive stronger regulatory and financial support from the government for their carbon credits, due to the high permanence. By Erisa Senerdem Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Viewpoint: Japan to advance biocarbon usage: Correction

26/01/05

Viewpoint: Japan to advance biocarbon usage: Correction

Corrects the year when the factory started operations in paragraph 2. Tokyo, 5 January (Argus) — Japanese firms are expected to accelerate torrefied or heat-treated biomass, also known as biocarbon, fuel projects from 2026. Torrefied wood pellets have a significantly higher calorific value (CV) compared with typical wood pellets, although the higher CV comes at a higher price. Japanese energy company Idemitsu is set to carry out full-scale shipments of black pellets in 2026, which are produced at its factory in Vietnam, according to the company. The factory started commercial operations in October 2025 and has 120,000 t/yr of production capacity. The torrefied biomass fuel will be delivered to consumers including Japanese utilities, which are planning to begin coal and black pellet co-firing generation at thermal power plants. Idemitsu has provided black pellet test products to around 20 customers in Japan so far, including power producers and other industries. It is possible to co-fire 35pc of black pellets with coal, the company said. It aims to expand its production capacity and is considering constructing new factories in Indonesia, Malaysia, and the US, in addition to Vietnam. Idemitsu's final target is 3mn t/yr of total production capacity in the 2030s, using locally secured biomass feedstocks. Idemitsu's current production capacity of black pellets is insufficient to satisfy potential demand in the future, the company said. A Japanese utility is planning 20pc of black pellet co-firing with coal at its 600MW unit, and another utility is considering 10pc co-firing at its 700MW unit. These two co-firing projects will likely drive several hundreds of thousands of tons of black pellet demand, according to market participants. Black pellets have a higher CV than normal wood pellets. They have better water resistance and grindability, and can be handled in a similar way to coal without major facility renovations. But black pellets are usually more expensive than coal and typical biomass fuels, at around double the price of wood pellets or even higher, market participants said. Other projects A joint venture project led by construction firm Kumagai Gumi and trading house Shinko Shoji is also planning to start producing black bark pellets at a factory, which they are constructing in western Japan's Ehime prefecture, in the fourth quarter of 2026. The factory is designed to have 30,000 t/yr of production capacity, using domestically secured bark materials. Black bark pellets have a CV of 5,000-6,000 kcal/kg, which is close to coal. The material will be used mainly for coal and biomass co-firing power generation in Japan. Trial products from the project have already been tested at Japanese thermal power plants. The companies plan to build more black bark pellet factories in Japan, each with a production capacity of 30,000 t/yr. New factories in southeast Asia are also on the cards. The firms have already developed test products made from Vietnamese acacia and conducted trial co-firing combustion with coal at a Japanese thermal power plant, they said. Steel and metals industry usage Japanese cast iron firm Aisin Takaoka started producing biocoke from palm kernel shells (PKS) at its factory in Indonesia in December 2025, and will start using the heat-treated biomass fuel in its cast iron melting furnace to replace coking coal in the first quarter of 2026. The factory, which Aisin Takaoka operates with Indonesian palm oil firm Triputra in the country's West Kalimantan state, currently has 15,000 t/yr of production capacity. The firm aims to increase the capacity of this biocoke project to 90,000 t/yr around 2031 with new factories. Aisin Takaoka is considering selling around a half of the products to other companies, including automobile, machinery manufacture, and cast iron firms. The other half will be for its own use. The biocoke has similar CV with coking coal and could replace 100pc of coking coal, the company said. Around 3-4t of PKS is needed to produce 1t of biocoke. Japan's Kobe Steel (Kobelco) is planning to use black pellets in its steelmaking process, in collaboration with cement producer Mitsubishi Ube Cement (MUCC). The companies are expected to set up a joint venture for this project in 2026. MUCC has developed torrefaction technology to produce black pellets. Kobelco aims to use MUCC's black pellets in steelmaking at its blast furnace in the Kakogawa steelworks. MUCC has a production capacity of 60,000 t/yr in its Ube factory. MUCC's black pellets have been co-fired with coal in its thermal power plant since 2019. By Takeshi Maeda Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Indonesia maintains PKS export tax for January 2026

25/12/31

Indonesia maintains PKS export tax for January 2026

Singapore, 31 December (Argus) — The Indonesian government has maintained its export tax on palm kernel shells (PKS) at $7/t for January 2026, unchanged from December. The crude palm oil (CPO) reference price for January is $915.64/t, down from $926.14/t in December, according to the official document released by Indonesia's trade ministry on 29 December. The PKS export tax is linked to the CPO price on a sliding scale, based on the export tax calculation announced by Indonesia's finance ministry in 2017 ( see table ). PKS exporters also pay an additional export levy to the national CPO fund at a flat rate of $3/t. This brings the total export tax and levy package for Indonesian PKS to $10/t for January. Export duties on palm oil products are paid to the treasury, while levies are directed to the government's Oil Palm Plantation Fund Management Agency to subsidize domestic biodiesel blending and replanting initiatives. Demand for PKS is expected to increase globally beyond key market Japan, which accounts for an average of 92pc of Indonesia's monthly exports. Other markets include South Korean utility GS EPS and Polish biomass utilities seeking cheaper alternatives to wood pellets. Argus last assessed the price of PKS compliant with Japan's feed-in-tariff requirements at $101.28/t fob east coast Sumatra on 24 December. By Nadhir Mokhtar Indonesia PKS tax and levy $/t Export tax Export levy Total tax & levy Monthly CPO benchmark price Jan '25 10.0 3.0 13 1,059.5 Feb '25 8.0 3.0 11.0 955.4 Mar '25 8.0 3.0 11.0 954.5 April '25 8.0 3.0 11 961.5 May '25 7.0 3.0 10.0 924.5 June '25 6.0 3.0 9.0 856.4 July '25 6.0 3.0 9 877.9 Aug '25 7.0 3.0 10.0 910.9 Sep '25 8.0 3.0 11.0 954.7 Oct '25 8.0 3.0 11.0 963.6 Nov '25 8.0 3.0 11.0 963.8 Dec '25 7.0 3.0 10.0 926.1 Jan '26 7.0 3.0 10.0 915.6 Source: Indonesia finance ministry Indonesia PKS export tax scale $/t Indonesia's monthly CPO benchmark price Export tax Up to $680 3.0 $680-730 3.0 $730-780 4.0 $780-830 5.0 $830-880 6.0 $880-930 7.0 $930-980 8.0 $980-1,030 9.0 $1,030-1,080 10.0 $1,080-1,130 11.0 $1,130-1,180 12.0 $1,180-1,230 13.0 $1,230-1,280 13.0 $1,280-1,330 13.0 $1,330-1,380 13.0 $1,380-1,430 13.0 >$1,430 13.0 Source: Indonesia finance ministry Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Erex starts second biomass co-firing test in Vietnam

25/12/26

Erex starts second biomass co-firing test in Vietnam

Tokyo, 26 December (Argus) — Japanese renewable energy developer Erex started its second test runs of coal and biomass co-firing at a thermal power plant in Vietnam, the company announced on 24 December. Erex began the trial co-firing operations at a 57.5MW unit of the 115MW Cao Ngan plant in northern Vietnam on 20 December. The test runs are expected to last around a month, burning up to 20pc of wood pellets secured domestically, according to the company. The thermal power plant is owned by Vietnam National Coal and Mineral Industries (Vinacomin). Erex has successfully carried out biomass co-firing test runs at a 55MW unit of the 110MW Na Duong plant in Vietnam over September-November, burning up to 20pc of domestically secured wood chips with coal. It was the company's first co-firing test at a Vietnamese thermal power plant. Vinacomin and Erex will renovate both plants in 2026-27 and start commercial co-firing operations around 2027-28. The Japanese company also plans co-firing test runs at the 670MW Cam Pha plant in 2027-28 and to start commercial operations around 2029-30. The company aims to carry out co-firing operations at six Vinacomin thermal power plants in Vietnam, with a total capacity of 1,585MW, including the Na Duong, Cao Ngan and Cam Pha plants. The co-firing projects underscore Vietnam's net-zero strategy. The country currently relies on coal to meet around half of its electricity demand, with power consumption increasing by 10 pc/yr. Vietnam has looked to biomass fuels as self-sufficient renewable energy sources. Meanwhile, Erex is eyeing carbon credits from the co-firing projects and is in negotiations with the Vietnamese government on this. The company is considering selling some of the carbon credits to other firms in Japan, after commercial co-firing operations begin in Vietnam. Erex is expanding its renewable energy business in Vietnam and Cambodia. Other than co-firing projects, the company plans to operate 19 biomass-fired power plants in Vietnam. The 20MW Hau Giang plant in southern Vietnam, which came on line in April, is the Japanese firm's first biomass-fired generation project in Vietnam By Takeshi Maeda Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Viewpoint: Vietnamese pellet supply to remain volatile

25/12/19

Viewpoint: Vietnamese pellet supply to remain volatile

Singapore, 19 December (Argus) — The Vietnamese wood pellet market is likely to face supply volatility in early 2026 due to an adverse weather outlook in the coming months. This could be exacerbated by a busy period to clear shipments before the annual Tet holidays in February, while forecasts of rain in early 2026 could translate to a repetition of the supply shortages seen in 2025. Rain across the country can make it difficult to harvest raw material including wood chips, putting pressure on wood pellet production. La Nina weather conditions are expected to persist until February 2026 at a probability of 50-60pc, according to forecasts by the country's National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting (NCHMF). Areas in southern Vietnam are expected to have higher-than-average rainfall at 10-30mm from January-February 2026. Regions in northern and central Vietnam may receive significant rainfall at 15-35mm during the same period. The NCHMF expects the most rainfall in the Quang Tri region in central Vietnam, with forecasts of 50-150mm in January and 40-70mm of rain in February. Multiple typhoons hit the country in the second half of 2025. Rain and floods were also frequent during this period, damaging wood pellet stockpiles and causing delays to shipments. Significant volumes of wood pellets were damaged by floods in late November. This was akin to weather-related disruptions seen in 2024, which extended to the Tet holidays in 2025. The supply disruptions caused a significant backlog of shipments after the holidays. Vietnamese wood pellet production capacity is also set to increase in 2026, cushioning the impact of the shortage brought about by supply disruptions in the fourth quarter of 2025. More than 300,000 t/yr of additional wood pellets are expected to meet export demand by the end of 2026. A major wood pellet supplier plans to generate an additional 315,000 t/yr of capacity by the end of 2026. A Japanese energy company aims to build at least five new wood pellet factories in the coming years, of which one with a capacity of 150,000 t/yr capacity began operations in 2025. Wood pellet from alternative origins Wood pellets from origins such as Russia and Canada have historically been the main alternatives to Vietnamese pellets and are generally considered to be of better quality. South Korean annual imports from Canada and Russia in 2025 are projected to rise on the year, much like Canadian wood pellets to Japan. Japan stopped importing from Russia in 2022. South Korean and Japanese demand for wood pellets from other southeast Asian origins have also increased substantially in recent months, with new volumes coming from Indonesia and Malaysia. Imports from the two countries have risen in 2025, with Indonesia having seen the highest export growth this year among all regions. This trend is expected to continue into 2026 where South Korean state-owned utilities and independent power producers (IPPs) have awarded more tender volumes to non-Vietnamese sellers, while Japan is expecting more than 200MW of new generation capacity to come on line by the end of 2026. By Nadhir Mokhtar and Joshua Sim Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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Bio Eneco to supply PKS to Thailand’s Berkana Power

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