Drax extends footprint to Asia with new subsidiary, office in Japan

British power producer Drax Group Plc (LON:DRX), operator of the Drax Power Station in North Yorkshire that largely runs on biomass, today announced its expansion into Asia through the establishment of a new regional subsidiary and the opening of an office in Japan.

Drax Asia will seek to increase the group’s sustainable biomass sales on the continent and in the meantime support the region’s energy security and decarbonisation.

“Drax’s unrivalled expertise across the entire biomass value chain - from sustainable fibre sourcing, pellet manufacturing, supply chain management, biomass power generation and BECCS - can support Japan’s climate targets, accelerating the move away from coal and enabling investment in clean energy technologies,” stated Yasuhisa Okamoto, who has been appointed as the head of the group’s Asian operations.

The group as a whole aims to grow its wood pellet production capacity to 8 million tonnes a year by 2030 from 5 million tonnes now, and to boost pellet sales to 4 million tonnes. At present, it runs 17 sustainable biomass pellet plants and developments in the US and Canada.

Drax is also increasingly focusing on its bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) technology. Earlier this week, the group announced it has submitted an application for a Development Consent Order (DCO) to the Planning Inspectorate for a multi-billion-pound BECCS project at its North Yorkshire power station.

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