Japan’s INPEX has begun carbon dioxide (CO2) capture and storage (CCS) for its integrated blue hydrogen and ammonia demonstration project in Kashiwazaki City, Niigata Prefecture, it is reported. The project injects CO2 into the depleted underground reservoir of the Higashi-Kashiwazaki gas field, whose production has ended.
The demonstration project is reported to produce hydrogen using domestically sourced natural gas from INPEX’s producing Minami-Nagaoka gas field, with the resulting CO2 stored in the nearby depleted gas field. The hydrogen produced is supplied as local power through hydrogen generation facilities at the Kashiwazaki Hydrogen Park, with a portion converted to ammonia for local supply. CO2 capture uses HiPACT®, a high-pressure CO2 capture technology jointly developed by JGC Global and BASF, and the project is being carried out with subsidy support from Japan’s NEDO (New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization) and joint research with JOGMEC (Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security).
The CO2 storage target is the depleted Higashi-Kashiwazaki gas field, with feedstock natural gas supplied from the Minami-Nagaoka gas field. The CO2 capture technology is HiPACT® (jointly developed by JGC Global and BASF), and the project is carried out through NEDO subsidy support and JOGMEC joint research.
Japan is reportedly seeking to build experience in hydrogen and ammonia supply chain development through small-scale blue hydrogen and CCS demonstrations utilizing domestic and depleted gas fields, and this project is regarded as an early-stage demonstration in that effort.
The model of reusing depleted gas fields as CO2 storage sites can lower CCS costs by leveraging existing gas development infrastructure, offering a reference case for other regions with similar depleted gas field resources.