JGC Holdings Corporation has announced that domestic EPC operating company JGC Japan Corporation (JGC Japan) has started technical development on carbon dioxide (CO₂) capture applying unused cold energy from liquefied natural gas (LNG).

These efforts support development and demonstration in a joint project of Toho Gas Co. Ltd. (Toho Gas) and Nagoya University, Tokai National Higher Education and Research System (Nagoya University) that was selected by Japan's New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) in May 2022 as a Green Innovation Fund project for development of technology for CO₂ separation, capture, and the like. JGC Japan has been contracted by Toho Gas as a participant since September this year.

This development and demonstration is focused on Cryo-Capture^®* technology, which applies unused LNG cold energy in CO₂ capture from factory exhaust gas. The R&D builds on the work of Professor Koyo Norinaga of Nagoya University's Institutes of Innovation for Future Society, whose innovative technique for applying unused LNG cold energy to capture CO₂ from factory exhaust gas requires only a small amount of additional energy, which promises to reduce CO₂ capture costs.

• ※Coined from cryo (short for cryogenics, referring to low-temperature physics) + capture (referring to CO₂ recovery from sources such as exhaust gas).

Because natural gas is liquefied by cooling it to roughly -162°C, much cold energy is released when LNG is regasified at LNG receiving terminals. This underutilized cold energy has attracted attention as a potential energy source for generating power or electricity.

By applying cryogenic expertise acquired from LNG plant/receiving terminal EPC operations, the JGC Group can ensure effective utilization of the unused LNG cold energy. Through test equipment design and other efforts, we will also contribute in verifying the feasibility of practical adoption of this CO₂ capture technology. Future contributions may include designing and scaling up pilot plants. Another decisive factor for participating in this development and demonstration is the fact that the JGC Group has positioned carbon neutrality as a key area over the medium to long term and considers CO₂ capture an important technology.

In designing test equipment, we will consider specific details such as absorbent, equipment, and pressure control methods that suit facility structures and operating conditions based on relationships between nitrogen and other impurities, CO₂ concentration, and partial pressure. JGC Japan will provide support in conceptual design for this process and in optimization design for the various facilities involved.

In this way, the JGC Group will continue working toward a carbon-neutral future through corporate and academic collaboration and partnerships to develop innovative environmental technologies.

Overview of development and demonstration

Purpose	To establish economical CO2 capture technology for industrial decarbonization in applications such as factory exhaust gas (low-pressure, low-concentration gas with a CO2 concentration of 10% or less at atmospheric pressure)
Main technical development	• Development of Cryo-Capture® technology for applying unused LNG cold energy in CO2 capture, requiring approx. 10% of the conventional thermal energy input; pilot demonstration of the technology at a natural gas facility • Demonstration of carbon recycling, including production of synthetic methane from methanation using recovered CO2 and hydrogen from water electrolysis or other sources as raw materials
Framework for implementation	• Toho Gas (company leading development and demonstration) JGC Japan contracted as a participant • Nagoya University (co-proposer) Universities joined as participants: Chuo University, Kyushu Institute of Technology, and Kyushu University
Project period	Nine years from fiscal 2022 to 2030 (planned)

Envisioned process in the case of applying unused LNG cold energy to capture CO2 from factory exhaust gas

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