INPEX to use BASF CO2 capture technology in its clean hydrogen/ammonia project

BASF Japan, a subsidiary of the chemical company BASF SE, has announced that the high-pressure regenerative CO2 capture technology HiPACT®, co-developed by BASF and its engineering partner JGC Corporation, will be used by INPEX Corporation, Japan’s exploration and production company, in its Kashiwazaki clean hydrogen/ammonia project.

BASF said the HiPACT® technology will be applied to efficiently capture and recover CO2 in the process gas from a hydrogen production facility using domestic natural gas as feedstock, adding that the recovered CO2 will be injected into the reservoirs of the depleted gas fields leveraging CCUS technologies for enhanced gas recovery (EGR).

According to BASF, by releasing the CO2 off gas above atmospheric pressure, HiPACT® is expected to reduce CO2 capture and compression costs by up to 35% compared with conventional technologies. The company said this is due to the technology’s high-temperature durability and CO2 absorption performance.

HiPACT® is a specialised solution targeting natural gas and synthesis gas treatment equipped with CCS or with CO2- enhanced oil/gas recovery (EOR/EGR). The technology completed demonstration tests at the natural gas plant at the Koshijihara field of INPEX in 2010 and was then commercialised.

Mami Kawakatsu, Head of Sales, Intermediates Division of BASF Japan, said: “Following the successful use of BASF’s OASE® gas treating technology in another NEDO-funded CCS project in Tomakomai, Japan, we are pleased to provide HiPACT® for Japan’s first demonstration project to produce blue hydrogen and ammonia from domestic natural gas.”

“The role of our excellent gas-treating technologies is recognised in these milestone projects in Japan’s net zero roadmap. We will continue to contribute to Japan’s 2050 carbon neutrality goal.”

Lawrence Loe, Director, OASE® Gas Treating Excellence, Intermediates Asia Pacific, BASF, added: “The implementation of HiPACT® is the result of our excellent partnership with JGC Group by combining our capabilities in process technology and plant engineering. We look forward to the use of HiPACT® in expanding the global CCUS landscape.”

The INPEX project involves the production of blue hydrogen/ammonia from domestically produced natural gas, the consistent implementation of carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) in domestic depleted gas fields, and the use of hydrogen for power generation and ammonia production. The production is expected to start in 2025.

The project is funded by the Japanese governmental organisation New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organisation (NEDO).

In January 2023, INPEX awarded contracts to JGC Corporation and Air Liquide for the project.