Japan’s Kawasaki Heavy Industries announced on December 9 that it aims to reach carbon neutrality in 2030 in its domestic factories and offices, where it will use green electricity generated by a 100-megawatt (MW) hydrogen-fueled power plant it plans to construct, as reported by Reuters on the same day. The company plans to import 225,000 tons of liquefied hydrogen to Japan in 2030 and use 45,000 tons at its hydrogen power plant. It will also leverage energy conservation technology and carbon dioxide separation and capture technology to completely offset the carbon emissions generated by its domestic factories in 2030, compared with 300,000 tons of carbon emissions this year.

As a major producer of liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers, Kawasaki aims to construct 80 hydrogen carriers by 2050 to import 9m tons of the fuel a year, after building two commercial-scale ships by 2030 to import 225,000 tons. The ambitious target is in alignment with Japan’s appeal to boost hydrogen fuel utilization. Last December, the Japanese government announced the planned hydrogen demand of 3m tons by 2030 and 20m tons by 2050, from the current level of 2m tons. The country aims to import 300,000 tons of hydrogen fuel a year by 2030, equivalent to one-tenth of its consumption target. For that, the country has sought partnerships with potential hydrogen exporters including Australia and Brunei, aiming to build a hydrogen supply network and bring down the cost of the fuel. As part of the collaboration, Kawasaki Heavy set up a joint venture (JV) with Australia’s coal producer AGL Energy to manufacture hydrogen from brown coal. The JV backed by the Japanese and Australian governments started production in March 2021 and would start transporting the first batch of hydrogen from Australia to Japan in late December.

Sources:

https://www.reuters.com/business/sustainable-business/kawasaki-heavy-aims-domestic-carbon-neutrality-2030-with-hydrogen-power-2021-12-09/

https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/kawasaki-heavy-aims-replicate-lng-supply-chain-with-hydrogen-2021-01-26/

https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/kawasaki-heavy-says-liquefied-hydrogen-carrier-may-leave-japan-this-month-2021-12-03/

https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Energy/Japan-taps-Australia-and-Brunei-for-hydrogen-import-goal