News
2023/4/21
Idemitsu launches feasibility study in Japan into clean hydrogen production from waste
Idemitsu Kosan Co.,Ltd., one of Japan’s leading producers and suppliers of energy (headquarters: Tokyo, Japan; Representative Director, President and CEO: Shunichi Kito; hereinafter “Idemitsu”), has launched a feasibility study of clean hydrogen production in Japan generated from waste, including municipal waste, in April. The goal is to launch a first hydrogen production facility around 2030 capable of processing 200-300 tons of waste per day.
The study is conducted in collaboration with California-based H-Cycle, LLC (CEO: Rob Morgan; hereinafter “HC”), which has developed a thermal conversion process using heat and electricity to transform waste into hydrogen with minimal emissions. HC is an investee of the Azimuth V Energy Evolution Fund, an investment fund launched by Azimuth Capital Management (headquarters: Alberta, Calgary, Canada) specializing in technology-enabled energy transition opportunities. Idemitsu has committed to invest in the fund in November 2021.
Hydrogen, which does not emit CO2 when burned, is widely expected to be deployed at large scale as a next-generation energy source to realize a carbon-neutral society. In the future, Japan is expected to rely on imports for most of the hydrogen procurement, and to be used mostly by industrial facilities in coastal areas. Widespread use of hydrogen will require securing inexpensive raw materials and reducing supply costs by building a supply chain enabling mass manufacturing and mass transportation.
The hydrogen production now being considered by Idemitsu and HC will use waste discharged in Japan, including municipal waste, as raw material. The system converts these waste products into high value-added clean hydrogen using an integrated gasification and plasma polishing process for which HC holds exclusive rights to deploy in Japan.
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