Japan’s major gas supplier is to test run a new ‘methanation’ process which converts hydrogen and CO2 into synthesised methane as it focuses on being carbon neutral by 2050
Tokyo Gas Co Ltd is to test its new methanation process, a technology to help decarbonise city gas, in Japan by the end of next March.
Methanation converts hydrogen and CO2 into synthesised methane, an alternative to the main component in natural gas, and it is considered a way of using CO2 as a raw material that could help the company achieve carbon neutrality in 2050, it said.
Also on AF: Chinese Firms May Opt to List in Hong Kong Instead of US: Analysts
Methane can be used as a fuel to generate heat and electricity in power plants or at home, and as a raw material for the chemical industry.
Tokyo Gas, the country’s biggest city gas supplier, said on Wednesday it plans to start the pilot programme at its research centre in Yokohama, near Tokyo, initially using hydrogen and CO2 procured from outside.
It also plans to use hydrogen generated by a water electrolysis device from Britain’s ITM Power PLC, which it aims to install at the test site by next June, as well as CO2 emitted and captured from nearby factories or its customers in the future.
EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE
Tokyo Gas wants to develop the technology and a supply chain as it can use existing natural gas infrastructure such as pipelines, storage tanks, gas-fired power plants and tankers.
“To reduce social costs, it is important to make effective use of existing infrastructure, and methanation is a promising option for decarbonisation of gas energy,” Kentaro Kimoto, Tokyo Gas’ senior managing executive officer, told a news conference.
- Reporting by Reuters
Read more:
Sinopec hits the gas on China’s biggest carbon-capture project
AF TV: Beijing casts its gaze further afield in search of gas
