Japan's Mitsui, others to jointly study hydrogen, ammonia supply chain in Osaka (updated)
30/08/2023 04:39
(Adds details on e-methane project in the United States)
TOKYO, Aug 30 (Reuters) - Japan's Mitsui & Co 8031.T ,
Mitsui Chemicals 4183.T , IHI Corp 7013.T and Kansai Electric
Power Co 9503.T will conduct a joint study for establishing a
hydrogen and ammonia supply chain in the Osaka coastal
industrial zone, the companies said.
The announcement on Wednesday comes a day after Eneos
5020.T and Osaka Gas 9532.T said they would study the
construction of a large e-methane facility - based on green
hydrogen - and to be located in the Osaka Bay area.
The four companies would study options for receiving,
storing and supplying ammonia - which can be used in power
generation among other fields - in the Osaka area to potentially
expand its usage in the Kansai and nearby Setouchi regions.
Hydrogen and ammonia, which do not emit CO2 when burning,
are an important part of Japan's energy security strategy to
reduce the usage of traditional fossil fuels. Mitsui is Japan's
biggest ammonia importer.
Separately, Tokyo Gas Co 9531.T , Osaka Gas Co 9532.T ,
Toho Gas Co 9533.T , Mitsubishi Corp 8058.T and Sempra
Infrastructure Partners LP would study e-methane exports to
Japan from the United States, they said on Wednesday.
The project would comprise a facility that would produce
130,000 metric tons of e-methane per year in Texas or Louisiana
in the U.S. to be liquefied at the nearby Cameron liquefied
natural gas (LNG) terminal and exported to Japan from 2030.
The capacity of the proposed facility is equivalent to
1% of the annual gas demand of Tokyo Gas, Osaka Gas and Toho
Gas, five companies said in the joint statement, without
providing an investment figure.
(Reporting by Katya Golubkova and Yuka Obayashi
Editing by Rashmi Aich and Janane Venkatraman)
((ekaterina.golubkova@thomsonreuters.com;))