Japan’s largest power company JERA Co., Inc. (Chuo-ku, Tokyo, Japan) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Samsung C&T Corp. (Seoul, South Korea), a leading global trading and investment company, to explore strategic collaboration aimed at strengthening the resilience of hydrogen and ammonia value chains and enhancing supply security.
Under the MoU, JERA and Samsung C&T will jointly examine ways to enhance operational flexibility across hydrogen and ammonia value chains, including approaches for managing and segregating carbon intensity attributes within storage infrastructure such as tanks.
With limited domestic energy resources, Japan and South Korea rely heavily on imported energy and share a common interest in securing reliable, affordable and cleaner energy solutions. As hydrogen and ammonia become increasingly important to both countries’ energy transition and energy security goals, resilient and commercially viable value chains will be essential to enabling the fuels’ broader deployment at scale.
JERA is progressing the development of Japan’s first integrated low-carbon ammonia value chain, with initiatives spanning production, transportation and utilization segments, and is targeting commencement of operations around fiscal year 2029. Samsung C&T is likewise advancing low-carbon ammonia infrastructure and supply chain initiatives in Korea.
Both companies have been recognized under their respective national frameworks for building low-carbon ammonia value chains. JERA was selected as a supplier of low-carbon hydrogen and its derivatives under Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) price gap support scheme, announced on December 19, 2025. Samsung C&T is working to build a stable supply chain in response to growing global demand for clean ammonia, and is continuously expanding its hydrogen business portfolio. These selections position the two companies as anchors of the emerging hydrogen and ammonia value chains in their home markets. By combining their capabilities and market leadership positions, JERA and Samsung C&T aim to strengthen value chain resilience across the region.
“Building resilient and commercially viable hydrogen and ammonia value chains requires like-minded companies to collaborate across markets,” said Irtiza Sayyed, Senior Managing Executive Officer of JERA and CEO of JERA Global Energy Solutions. “Japan and South Korea share many common challenges and opportunities as energy import-reliant nations. Through our collaboration with Samsung C&T, we look forward to exploring practical ways to support the development of robust and commercially viable low-carbon hydrogen and ammonia markets across the region.”