JGC Holdings Corporation is pleased to announce that domestic EPC operating company JGC Japan Corporation has been awarded a contract for construction of ground facilities in INPEX Corporation's demonstration "Kashiwazaki Clean Hydrogen/Ammonia Project"

The project calls for the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC), and commissioning for a 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 is for an undisclosed amount, with completion of construction scheduled for August 2025.

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% 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 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 tons will be sought, as synthesized from natural gas produced locally by the company. Some hydrogen will be used as a feedstock for ammonia production, with the rest used in power generation. CO₂ generated during hydrogen and ammonia production will be injected into a depleted reservoir nearby, applying carbon dioxide 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.

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 decarbonization of existing energy sources and to expanded production and supply of clean energy such as hydrogen and ammonia, supporting energy stability and decarbonization in society.

*HiPACT® is a carbon capture technology jointly developed by JGC Corporation and BASF SE. The approach was commercialized in 2010. With its excellent high-temperature durability and CO2 absorption performance, HiPACT enables more energy-efficient carbon capture, promising approximately 25-35% lower capture and compression costs.

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