Japanese trading houses Mitsui and Mitsubishi have formed a partnership with US-based Sempra Infrastructure to sell liquefied natural gas (LNG) produced using a low-carbon process, as reported by Nikkei Asia on April 13. The companies are set to start production around 2029 at a major LNG facility in Louisiana. The factory will use electric motors powered by renewable energy, mainly solar, to replace traditional gas turbines. Combined with other carbon-reduction technologies such as carbon capture, the factory could reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from production by 80% to 90%. The project is expected to manufacture 6.75 million tons of LNG annually, equivalent to about 10% of Japan’s annual demand in 2023.

The initiative aims to meet the growing demand for low-carbon energy sources. Japan’s electricity utilities are facing mounting pressure from customers in the manufacturing and retailing sectors to use green energy sources to mitigate their carbon footprints. Currently, Mitsui and Mitsubishi are in talks with Japanese electricity and gas companies to sell the green LNG produced from Sempra’s Louisiana facility. Notably, Sempra’s green production method allows for almost the same manufacturing costs as the current LNG-makingprocess. Last August, Sempra also inked an agreement with a consortium comprising Mitsubishi and Japan’s three major gas utilities to study the feasibility of an e-methane production project in the US Gulf Coast. E-methane, or e-natural gas, is another type of green fuel created by combining green hydrogen with CO2 captured from industrial sources.

Sources:

https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Energy/Greener-U.S.-LNG-Mitsui-Mitsubishi-eye-90-emissions-cut-from-production

https://www.sempra.com/newsroom/press-releases/sempra-infrastructure-and-leading-japanese-consortium-develop-carbon