Japanese companies Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) and Osaka Gas have entered into an agreement to conduct a feasibility study on a project to develop a CO 2 value chain for carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS).
As informed, the agreement includes transporting CO 2 captured in Japan to overseas, utilizing it to produce e-methane, synthetic gas produced through methanation, and storing it underground.
According to the partners, the project aims to establish an efficient CO 2 value chain, using Osaka Gas’s knowledge on e-methane production and CO 2 storage and MHI’s expertise in CO 2 capture, liquefied CO 2 maritime vessel transport, and CO 2 management.
To that end, the project partners will examine methods to capture CO 2 emitted from the hard-to-abate industries, such as steel, cement, and chemicals, and transport liquefied CO 2 using ships.
Specifically, Osaka Gas and MHI will conduct a feasibility study on the entire CCUS scheme, including CO 2 utilization for e-methane and underground sequestration, in corporation with companies from a wide variety of industries.
Furthermore, the project plans to expand its CCUS scheme through the trade and transfer of CCUS’s environmental value quantified by CO 2 NNEX, a digital platform under development by MHI and IBM Japan for visualizing CO 2 value chain.
In February this year, the firms announced they built a demonstration system for CO2NNEX for e-methane.
IoT will connect actual CO 2 data, and blockchain technology will provide neutrality, and fairness along with advanced information security.
Through this project, Osaka Gas and MHI aim to contribute to achieving a carbon neutral society by 2050, combining the two companies’ technologies developed to meet their respective goals for net zero emissions.