Seven companies to work on Japanese advanced CCS projects

Taiheiyo Cement Corp, ITOCHU Corp, Nippon Steel Corp, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd, INPEX Corp, Taisei Corp and ITOCHU Oil Exploration Co Ltd were selected by the Japan Organisation for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC) to conduct engineering design work for Japanese advanced CCS projects.

The Japanese government has chosen CCS as an important means for decarbonisation that must be fully harnessed, especially in hard-to-abate industries such as cement if Japan is to achieve the two targets of carbon neutrality in 2050 and a 46 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from the FY13 level by FY30. To initiate the wider implementation of CCS, JOGMEC issued a public call for advanced CCS projects in 2023 with the goal of achieving the successful underground storage of domestically-emitted CO₂ by FY30. The initiative was selected as one of the first advanced CCS projects in Japan to be eligible for governmental support. It involves the use of ships to transport CO₂ separated and captured at the Nippon Steel’s Kyushu Works Oita Area and the Kawasaki cement plant of Daiichi Cement Co Ltd, part of Taiheiyo Cement Group, to the storage sites.

A study was conducted in FY23 relating to the CO₂ separation, capture, transportation and storage that included identifying technical issues in the overall project as well as studies on economic viability and public acceptance.

The project selected now includes front end end engineering design (FEED) work relating to the separation, capture, ship transportation and storage of CO₂, and appraisal drilling as the next phase of the project. Based on results of the previous study, basic engineering design work will be carried out from the perspectives of both technical and economic viability for each element of the value chain with the goal of starting operations by FY30.