Inoex opens Japan’s first integrated hydrogen and blue ammonia demonstration plant

Inpex Corp. (Tokyo) announced the official opening of Kashiwazaki Hydrogen Park in Kashiwazaki City, Niigata Prefecture, Japan. The facility consists of a blue hydrogen and ammonia demonstration plant, the Kashiwazaki Hydrogen Power Plant and the Hirai Gas Collection Station. Inpex constructed the facility to support its blue hydrogen and ammonia production and utilization demonstration test project.

The project is Japan’s first to integrate the entire process from the production to the utilization of hydrogen and ammonia, which are non-polluting energy sources that do not emit CO 2 during usage.

The project also adheres to the “local production for local consumption” concept focusing on Niigata Prefecture, where the Company has operated for many years. The natural gas used as a raw material is sourced from the Minami-Nagaoka Gas Field, which INPEX operates in another part of Niigata Prefecture. CO₂ generated as a byproduct during the production of hydrogen and ammonia will be injected (CCUS) into the reservoir of the Hirai area of the Higashi-Kashiwazaki Gas Field, where gas production has already ceased, reducing atmospheric emissions. The hydrogen produced in this project will be used to generate electricity, which will be supplied via a power grid to end users in Niigata Prefecture. In addition, a portion of the hydrogen will be converted into ammonia and supplied to customers residing in Niigata Prefecture.

The opening of the facility reflects INPEX’s aim to accumulate technology and experience across the entire hydrogen and ammonia supply chain from production to utilization, and build a track record to become a pioneer in the hydrogen and ammonia industry both in Japan and other countries.

The production of hydrogen and ammonia and the capture of CO₂ are components of the project that are subsidized by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) as part of the organization’s “Fuel Ammonia Utilization and Production Technology Development/Technology Development for Blue Ammonia Production” program. Additionally, the implementation and evaluation of subsurface CO₂ storage are being conducted as joint research with the Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC) entitled “Demonstration Test on Understanding CO₂ Storage Capacity Utilizing Domestic Depleted Oil and Gas Fields for Decarbonization in Natural Gas Utilization, etc.”