Kawasaki Heavy says liquefied hydrogen carrier may leave Japan this month
03/12/2021 11:26
TOKYO, Dec 3 (Reuters) - The world's first liquefied
hydrogen carrier could leave Japan for Australia to pick up its
first cargo of hydrogen late this month though the return date
has yet to be set due to COVID-19, Japan's Kawasaki Heavy
Industries Ltd 7012.T said on Friday.
The A$500 million ($353 million) pilot project, led by
Kawasaki and backed by the Japanese and Australian governments,
was originally scheduled to ship its first cargo of hydrogen
extracted from brown coal in Australia in spring. It was delayed
to the second half of Kawasaki's financial year in October to
March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL2N2N60YG
"It will still depend on the pandemic situation, but we
think the ship could leave Japan for Australia as early as late
this month," a Kawasaki spokesperson said.
Kawasaki Heavy aims to replicate its success as a major
liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker producer with hydrogen, a key
element that may help decarbonise industries and aid the global
energy transition. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2JZ07G
In March this year, the Japanese-Australian venture started
producing hydrogen from brown coal in the test project that aims
to show liquefied hydrogen can be produced and exported safely
to Japan. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2L81IF
The Kawasaki spokesperson said the hydrogen carrier "Suiso
Frontier" has been registered by ClassNK, a ship classification
society, giving it recognition that it complies with
International Maritime Organisation standards.
The schedule for the return journey from Australia is not
yet fixed due to uncertainty about the impact of the Omicron
variant of the coronavirus, he said, adding a one-way trip takes
about 16 days.
Partners on the Australian side of the project include
Japan's Electric Power Development Co (J-Power) 9513.T ,
Iwatani Corp 8088.T , Marubeni Corp 8002.T , Sumitomo Corp
8053.T and Australia's AGL Energy Ltd AGL.AX , whose mine is
supplying the brown coal.
($1 = 1.4178 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; Editing by Emelia
Sithole-Matarise)
((Yuka.Obayashi@thomsonreuters.com; +813-4520-1265;))