This comes as Tokyo seeks overseas sites to store CO2 to achieve its net zero greenhouse gas emissions goal by 2050. Japanese trading house Sumitomo, gas retailer Toho Gas and shipping firm K-Line said on 7 September that they signed a non-binding, initial agreement with Woodside Energy to jointly conduct a feasibility study to establish a commercial CCS value chain between Japan and Australia.
The companies will investigate the possibility of capturing, accumulating and liquefying CO2 emitted from industries and companies in central Japan's Chubu region, by applying a technology that Toho Gas is developing to separate and capture CO2 by using unutilised LNG cryogenic energy. The study will also investigate the potential transportation of CO2 using low-temperature, low-pressure liquefied CO2 carriers to injection and storage sites in Australia.
Through the study, the companies also aim to estimate the amount of CO2 to be captured, examine optimal CO2 capture, accumulation and transportation methods, estimate the amount of CO2 that can be stored at storage sites in Australia, evaluate the necessary storage technologies and monitoring system. They will also assess relevant regulatory frameworks and costs in each segment of the CCS value chain.
The deal came after Japanese utility Kansai Electric Power signed an initial agreement with Woodside Energy on 5 September to carry out a feasibility study to establish a CCS value chain between Japan and Australia. Under the study, Kansai will research the capture of CO2 emitted from its thermal power plants and its transportation to Australia. Woodside Energy will conduct the study of injection and storage of CO2 delivered from Japan as well as potentially producing synthetic methane, or e-methane, for export to Japan.
The Japanese government aims to develop CO2 value chains through comprehensive carbon management, as the island country has few natural resources and would have to continue using fossil fuels. Tokyo aims to add 6mn-12mn t/yr of CO2 storage capacity from 2030 and achieve 120mn-240mn t/yr of capacity by 2050. The government previously estimated that Japan could store up to 70pc of its forecast 240mn t/yr of CO2 emissions in 2050, meaning that exports will be inevitable.
