Idemitsu Kosan has launched a feasibility study of clean H₂ production in Japan generated from waste, including municipal waste. The goal is to launch the first H₂ production facility around 2030 capable of processing 200 tpd–300 tpd of waste.

The study is conducted in collaboration with California-based H-Cycle (HC), which has developed a thermal conversion process using heat and electricity to transform waste into H₂ with minimal emissions. HC is an investee of the Azimuth V Energy Evolution Fund, an investment fund launched by Azimuth Capital Management specializing in technology-enabled energy transition opportunities. Idemitsu has committed to invest in the fund in November 2021.

H₂, which does not emit CO₂ when burned, is widely expected to be deployed at large scale as a next-generation energy source to realize a carbon-neutral society. In the future, Japan is expected to rely on imports for most of the H₂ procurement, and to be used mostly by industrial facilities in coastal areas. Widespread use of H₂ will require securing inexpensive raw materials and reducing supply costs by building a supply chain enabling mass manufacturing and mass transportation.

The H₂ production now being considered by Idemitsu and HC will use waste discharged in Japan, including municipal waste, as raw material. The system converts these waste products into high value-added clean H₂ using an integrated gasification and plasma polishing process for which HC holds exclusive rights to deploy in Japan.

Features of the project

• By utilizing resources such as waste as a raw material, clean H₂ can be produced and supplied domestically. In conventional H₂ production, fossil fuels such as natural gas are used as raw materials. In production with waste, there is no need to use fossil fuels as raw materials.

The H₂ production now being considered can process a wide variety of wastes as raw materials, not limited to household waste. Biomass feedstock such as food waste offsets CO₂ emissions during H₂ production, making this a production method with lower CO₂ emissions than conventional H₂ production. Furthermore, by sequestrating and utilizing the highly concentrated CO₂ emitted during the production process, even cleaner H₂ production becomes possible, and this also contributes to reducing CO₂ emissions associated with waste disposal.

• H₂ production from waste in various regions of Japan will be possible through collaboration with local governments.

By installing this integrated gasification and plasma polishing process as a waste treatment facility in each region to produce H₂, it is possible to reduce transportation costs and develop supply bases for H₂ that is locally produced and consumed. We aim to spread efficient waste treatment technology and realize local production for local consumption of energy.

The clean H₂ produced is expected to be used not only for industrial and mobility applications, such as fuel cell vehicles, but also as raw material for synthetic fuels.

Aiming to construct an initial H₂ production facility around 2030 that will process 200 tpd–300 tpd of waste, Idemitsu will going forward seek the cooperation of local governments and determine partner companies for equipment operation and maintenance.

As Japan moves toward realizing a carbon-neutral society by 2050, Idemitsu has set forth a 2030 vision, Your Reliable Partner for a Brighter Future, and a 2050 vision, Shaping Change. As per the medium-term management plan announced in November last year (target years: FY2023–2025), Idemitsu will fulfill its responsibility to support people and their daily lives and to protect the global environment now and in the future by implementing the following three business domains throughout society.

The feasibility study is positioned as an initiative to realize the energy one step ahead and diverse resource conservation/circulation solutions business domains shown above.