Tri Petch Isuzu, the local distributor of Isuzu vehicles, is working with PTT Plc to jointly test vehicles powered by a new clean fuel to support a campaign to cut carbon dioxide emissions, which are high in Thailand's transport sector.
More than 60% of greenhouse gas emissions in Thailand come from the transport and power generation sectors, according to academics at Chulalongkorn University.
The Isuzu-PTT collaboration is one of the projects directed by Commercial Japan Partnership Technologies, a group of large automakers that includes Isuzu Motors and Toyota Motor, aiming to promote technologies that align with global efforts to achieve carbon neutrality.
Thailand announced in 2021 it plans to achieve carbon neutrality, a balance between CO2 emissions and absorption, by 2050.
"We will test hydro vegetable oil [HVO], a type of biodiesel made from used cooking oil," said Takashi Hata, president of Tri Petch Isuzu Sales.
According to Isuzu, HVO has the potential to be a green fuel for diesel engine vehicles as it can reduce CO2 emissions by up to 93%.
Isuzu also teamed up with Mitsubishi Corporation to jointly conduct a study on "e-fuel", a promising alternative fuel that can be used with internal combustion engine vehicles.
E-fuel is a synthetic oil made from a hydrocarbon compound.
The process of making e-fuel supports clean energy development.
Researchers use renewable power to separate hydrogen from water through the hydrogen electrolysis method, and purify CO2 captured from the air or emissions from factories.
They then combine hydrogen and carbon to make a hydrocarbon compound.
Mr Hata said Isuzu is adopting multiple pathways to reach carbon neutrality, which includes the development of innovative products and new types of clean energy, as well as the improvement of its operation management system.
The Yokohama-based automaker earlier announced plans to spend ¥1 trillion (240 billion baht) on investments through 2030, with part of the budget allocated for battery cell and electric pickup manufacturing in Thailand, which will serve as the company's electric vehicle export base.
The battery cell and electric pickup production forms part of a 32-billion-baht investment budget allocated for Thailand.
A portion of the funds will support projects aiming to achieve carbon neutrality, as well as digital transformation in the logistics sector.