Cedigaz News Reports

 

29/07/2021
Japanese firms eye CO2-free hydrogen production.

Japanese utility Kansai Electric Power and industrial gas firm Iwatani are to study ways of producing CO2-free hydrogen in the country.

The companies are eyeing technology developments that will help reduce CO2 emissions, and plan to use existing infrastructure as much as possible to cut costs.

Hydro Edge, an existing joint venture that is 50pc owned by Iwatani and 39.8pc by Kansai, has the capacity to produce 9,000 litres/h of liquified hydrogen. But this project emits CO2. The new study aims to upgrade to blue and green hydrogen using decarbonisation technologies such as renewables-based power generation and carbon capture, utilisation and storage. Another option would be to conduct carbon emissions-trading, Kansai said.

Kansai and Iwatani are assuming hydrogen generation costs of ¥30/Nm³ in 2030 and ¥20/Nm³ in 2050, down from current levels of ¥100/Nm³, based on estimates in Japanese industry ministry Meti's energy strategy. The Japanese government is gearing up to develop hydrogen technologies to achieve its goal of becoming a carbon-neutral society by 2050.

The study also covers carbon neutral synthetic methane used for both production and transportation.

The companies are also co-operating on a separate project to develop a hydrogen fuel cell ship for use as a passenger ferry by 2025. (July 29, 2021)

JAPAN - GREENH2 - Production