Japan’s JGC Holdings Corporation has decided to invest in AP Ventures Fund III, a venture capital fund in the United Kingdom (UK), to enhance the company’s competitiveness in the exploration of technologies in the fields of hydrogen, ammonia and carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS).
As its name suggests, this is the third fund managed by AP Ventures. Through its first two funds, the company has invested in more than 20 companies, JGC claimed, noting that the AP Ventures team has been investing in the hydrogen industry since 2013, and is building a hydrogen value chain around the world.
JGC stated: “JGC Group targets the realization of an ‘environmentally conscious society’ and the improvement of ‘energy access’ as important issues (materiality) to be addressed as a JGC Group. We are working on a wide range of initiatives to expand the use of hydrogen which does not emit CO2 during combustion, and ammonia, which is expected to be the most promising hydrogen energy carrier in hydrogen transportation from the viewpoint of economic efficiency and safety.”
“In addition, under our long-term management vision ‘2040 Vision,’ we are prioritizing energy transition as our future growth engine, and in order to contribute to the realization of a decarbonized society, we believe that it is important to strengthen our competitiveness through collaboration with ventures that have promising technologies in the fields of hydrogen, ammonia, and CCUS.”
In 2024, JGC got involved in several hydrogen and carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects. The company secured a front-end engineering design (FEED) contract with firms ENEOS and Sumitomo for a green hydrogen production plant in Malaysia and also teamed up with Chugoku Electric Power (EnerGia), Nippon Gas Line (NGL), Japan Petroleum Exploration (JAPEX), K Line and JFE Steel Corporation for the project aiming to establish a CCS value chain originating from Japan for the CCS project in Malaysia.
Furthermore, together with Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Toyo Engineering Corporation and Chiyoda Corporation, it signed a joint venture agreement to enhance the FEED execution for a liquefied hydrogen supply chain in development by Japan Suiso Energy (JSE).