Japan’s energy company Eneos will develop its commercial-scale liquid organic hydrogen carrier (LOHC) project using technology provided by U.S. company Honeywell.
According to Honeywell, its LOHC solution enables the long-distance transportation of clean hydrogen and can help meet the growing requirements for hydrogen use across various industries by leveraging existing refining assets and infrastructure.
In the Honeywell LOHC solution, hydrogen gas is combined chemically through the Honeywell toluene hydrogenation process into methylcyclohexane (MCH), a convenient liquid carrier, compatible with existing infrastructure, Honeywell noted, adding that hydrogen will be exported to Eneos in Japan in the form of MCH.
Once at its destination, the hydrogen will be recovered using the Honeywell MCH dehydrogenation process and released for use, while the toluene can be sent back for additional cycles, Honeywell said.
To note, this is one of multiple hydrogen transportation projects on which Honeywell and Eneos are collaborating.
Ken West, President and CEO of Honeywell Energy and Sustainability Solutions, stated that with more cost-effective long-distance transport, Honeywell’s LOHC provides a method of more closely matching international supply and demand for hydrogen which enables hydrogen to play a critical role in the energy mix as the world moves toward lower-carbon economies.