A total of seven companies – consisting of the ITOCHU Corporation, Nippon Steel Corporation, Taiheiyo Cement Corporation, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), ITOCHU Oil Exploration, INPEX Corporation, and Taisei Corporation – have partnered to carry out a feasibility study on a Japanese advanced CCS project. The project forms part of the Tohoku Region West Coast CCS initiative which has been selected by the Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security.

Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry set a goal of launching a public offering of CCS value chain operators – including carbon dioxide emitting companies, and several CCS projects by 2030 – for the social implementation of CCS. Through these projects, the Japanese government aims to achieve two targets – carbon neutrality in 2050 and a 46% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions – based on the FY2013 level – in FY2030.

Following the announcement of the governmental targets, in January 2023, ITOCHU, MHI, INPEX and Taisei, revealed that they would conduct a study/project collaboratively relating to the separation, capture, ship transportation and storage of CO2, with a focus placed on emissions creased by hard-to-abate industries in Japan. The group will also select prospective sites for CO2 storage in the country. Nippon Steel and Taiheiyo Cement are taking part in the initiative as CO2 emitting companies.

Throughout the study, the companies will identify technical issues in the entire CCS value chain in addition to commercial and social acceptability issues, based on a concept of using ships to transport CO2 separated and captured at certain Nippon Steel and Taiheiyo Cement facilities, to CO2 storage sites. The group’s goal is to create a robust CCS value chain project by FY2030.

Nippon Steel and Taihejyo Cement will be tasked with studying the separation capture and liquefaction of CO2 and shipping terminal, while MHI evaluates the ship transportation of CO2 and onshore liquefied CO2 receiving and storage facilities. Inpex and Taisei will be responsible for CO2 injection and underground storage.

Additionally, ITOCHU will carry out the overall coordination and economic arrangements, and will also manage the CO2-emitting companies. An operating subsidiary of the ITOCHU Group, CIECO, has also joined the project, and will be responsible for conducting the economic evaluation of the entire value chain and CO2 injection and underground storage.