Japan begins power generation with imported hydrogen

A consortium of Japanese firms has begun generating power using imported hydrogen at its demonstration project linking Japan and Brunei, taking a step closer to realising commercialisation of a global hydrogen supply chain.

The project, Advanced Hydrogen Energy Chain Association for Technology Development (Ahead), launched in 2017 and aimed to build an international supply chain of hydrogen to fuel thermal power plants and combat global warming.

The first shipment of methylcyclohexane (MCH), which was produced using hydrogen from the 7.2mn t/yr Brunei LNG plant, was transported in an ISO tank container and arrived at Japan's Kawasaki port in December. The hydrogen was separated from the MCH at a dehydrogenation plant in Kawasaki and supplied to a power generation unit at the 70,000 b/d Kawasaki oil refinery.

The demonstration project plans to produce and supply up to 210t of hydrogen between in 2020.

Ahead is a consortium established by Japanese plant engineering firm Chiyoda, shipping firm NYK Line and trading houses Mitsui and Mitsubishi.

Japan has been pursuing the potential of hydrogen as an energy source that is free of carbon dioxide, as part of efforts to meet greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals and achieve a decarbonised society. Japanese and Australian firms are working on a coal-to-hydrogen project to produce hydrogen from Australian brown coal for export to Japan. The first liquefied hydrogen carrier for the project is currently under construction and planned for commissioning later this year.

By Rieko Suda