In Japan, engineering major JGC Holdings Corporation has announced that its domestic EPC operating company JGC Japan Corporation has been awarded a contract for the construction of ground facilities in INPEX Corporation's "Kashiwazaki Clean Hydrogen/Ammonia Project" demonstration project in Niigata Prefecture.
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The project calls for the engineering, procurement, construction (EPC), and commissioning of natural gas pretreatment facilities, hydrogen production facilities, carbon capture and injection facilities, ammonia storage, and offloading facilities, power generation facilities, utility facilities, and facilities connected to the wells in the Hirai field area.
The lump-sum contract, the value of which has not been disclosed, foresees the completion of construction in August 2025.
Strategic Energy Plan 2030 targets 1 percent
Japan’s 2050 net-zero pledge in October 2020 was followed in October 2021 by cabinet approval for the nation’s sixth Strategic Energy Plan, targeting an approximate 1 percent share of hydrogen/ammonia in the FY2030 energy mix.
These and other developments show the increasing importance of hydrogen and ammonia as energy sources.
INPEX Corporation’s “Kashiwazaki Clean Hydrogen/Ammonia Project” will be conducted under a subsidized business adopted by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) as “Technology Development for the Utilization and Production of Ammonia as Fuel/Technology development for Blue Ammonia production”.
This integrated project involves the construction of new facilities in the Hirai area of the INPEX-owned Higashi-Kashiwazaki gas field in Kashiwazaki City, Niigata prefecture, where an annual hydrogen production volume of 700 tonnes will be sought, as synthesized from natural gas produced locally by the company.
HiPACT carbon capture
Some hydrogen will be used as feedstock for ammonia production, with the rest used in power generation.
The carbon dioxide (CO2) generated during hydrogen and ammonia production will be injected into a depleted reservoir nearby, applying carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) techniques.
JGC will oversee EPCC for the following project facilities: natural gas pretreatment facilities other than ammonia production facilities, hydrogen production facilities, carbon capture and injection facilities, ammonia storage and offloading facilities, power generation facilities, utility facilities, and facilities connected to the wells – observation wells, production wells, and CO2 injection wells – in the Hirai field area.
The carbon capture facility will apply high-pressure regenerative CO2 capture technology “HiPACT” developed by JGC Corporation and the German integrated chemical manufacturer BASF SE, while the hydrogen production facility will apply Air Liquide hydrogen production technology.
HiPACT is a carbon capture technology jointly developed by JGC Corporation and BASF SE. The approach was commercialized in 2010.
According to JGC, with its excellent high-temperature durability and CO2 absorption performance, HiPACT enables more energy-efficient carbon capture, promising approximately 25-35 percent lower capture and compression costs compared to other solutions.
We believe the factors for receiving this contract included a recognition of the JGC Group’s extensive experience in executing domestic and overseas projects involving oil and natural gas fields, as well as our ability to develop fitting proposals from an accurate understanding of the basic design concept for the project ground facilities. Through optimal, economically, and technologically compelling solutions and superior project execution, the JGC Group will continue to contribute both to the decarbonization of existing energy sources and to the expanded production and supply of clean energy such as hydrogen and ammonia, supporting energy stability and decarbonization in society, JGC said in a statement.