Engie to ship biomass in Japan

French utility Engie (EPA:GSZ), formerly GDF Suez, said on Friday it signed a biomass delivery contract with Japanese trader Sumitomo Corp (TYO:8316).

Under the contract, Engie will be providing an integrated service for its client, from sourcing to shipping.

Starting in 2018, the French company will supply one million tonnes of wood pellets over a period of 10 years to a power plant to be operated by Sumitomo's subsidiary Summit Energy Corporation.

The plant construction is slated to begin in 2016 in the port of Sakata, in North-Eastern Japan. The 50 MW facility will produce electricity from materials such as unused wood and timber off-cuts both from local and overseas sources, according to a press release of Sumitomo.

Engie is a global actor in biomass supply, asset optimisation and risk management solutions, operating from Brussels and Singapore. The company is among the founding members of the Sustainable Biomass Partnership (SBP) initiative, and says its pellet supply is fully certified and sustainable.

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