OEMs, others collaborate on biodiesel project

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Nippon Oil Corporation, Toyota Motor Corp. and Hino Motors have announced a joint project to commercialize bio-hydrofined diesel (BHD), a second-generation biodiesel fuel. This project will allow Toyota and Hino to verify the superior performance of BHD produced on a trial basis by Nippon Oil as fuel for diesel vehicles. The performance of the fuel will be verified by tests conducted on two or three Tokyo city buses which will use a blended diesel fuel with 10% BHD over the course of this year. In January, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government formed a committee to promote carbon reduction within Tokyo city under its ten-year Project for Carbon Reduction in Tokyo, which is also being developed in collaboration with Nippon Oil, Toyota and Hino. (February 22, 2007)