Japanese Diesel Engine Manufacturer to Open Biodiesel Research Center in Malaysia

18 January 2007

Yanmar Co., a Japan-based global manufacturer of diesel engines and construction and agricultural machines, plans to build a facility in Malaysia to conduct research on the development of palm oil biodiesel, according to a report in Nikkei.

The company plans to develop and test biodiesel for the industrial diesels it develops for its machines and generators. The new research facility, to be capitalized at ¥500 million (US$4.1 million), will be set up in Kota Kinabalu in northern Malaysia, a major producer of palm oil.

The facility will conduct research jointly with oil companies and a university in the area, aiming to start commercial-level operations in three years.

Yanmar has already stepped up its promotional and testing activities with biodiesel. In July 2006, the company joined Takashima city in Shiga Prefecture in testing a 9.9 kW cogeneration system running on 100% biodiesel fuel. The company is also sponsoring the Ukyo Katayama team in this year’s Paris-Dakar Rally with a vehicle fueled by 100% biodiesel (B100). The biodiesel for Ukyo Katayama’s land Cruiser in the 10,000 km race is refined from waste vegetable oil.