Partners to conduct engineering design work for Japanese CCS project

Tohoku Region West Coast carbon capture and storage (CCS) initiative, proposed by Japanese players Itochu Corporation, Nippon Steel Corporation, Taiheiyo Cement Corporation, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), Inpex Corporation, Taisei Corporation and Itochu Oil Exploration, has been selected by the Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC) to conduct engineering design work for Japanese advanced CCS project.

The Japanese government aims to achieve carbon neutrality in 2050, and CCS is positioned as a means for decarbonization. To expedite its implementation, in 2023, JOGMEC issued a public call for advanced CCS projects with the goal of achieving the successful underground storage of domestically-emitted carbon dioxide (CO2) by FY2030, and the initiative was selected as one of Japan’s first advanced CCS projects to be eligible for governmental support.

As disclosed, the initiative involves the concept of using ships to transport CO2 separated and captured at the Nippon Steel’s Kyushu Works Oita Area and the Kawasaki Plant of DC CO., a Taiheiyo Cement Group company, to candidate storage sites. In FY2023, a feasibility study was conducted relating to the CO2 separation, capture, transportation and storage, which included identifying technical issues in the overall project as well as studies on economic viability and public acceptance.

According to Itochu, the work selected this time includes front end engineering design (FEED) related to the separation, capture, ship transportation and storage of CO2 and appraisal drilling, as the next phase of the project. Based on the results of the feasibility study mentioned above, 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 FY2030.

Itochu said the seven companies will continue to cooperate with each other to contribute to the realization of a sustainable society by aiming for the early social implementation of CCS in Japan.

To note, JOGMEC has also concluded a contract with Inpex Corporation, Nippon Steel Corporation and Kanto Natural Gas Development regarding the “basic engineering design for CCS value chain” and “assessment on CO2 storage potential including exploratory drilling.” The three parties will undertake the Metropolitan area CCS project.

According to the companies, this project will involve studying the feasibility of capturing CO2 emitted from Nippon Steel’s East Nippon Works Kimitsu Area and multiple industries in the Keiyo Industrial Zone in the Tokyo metropolitan area, transporting the CO2 through pipelines and storing the CO2 off the East Coast of the Boso Peninsula in Chiba Prefecture.