JFE Steel and five other companies have signed an agreement with the Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC) to conduct design work for an advanced ship-based carbon capture and storage (CCS) project at the Mizushima Industrial Complex in Kurashiki, Okayama.
The consortium, comprising JFE Steel, Sumitomo Corporation, Asahi Kasei, ENEOS, Mitsubishi Gas Chemical and Mitsubishi Chemical, will study facilities for CO2 separation, capture, liquefaction, temporary storage and shipping. The project aims to establish a shared CCS infrastructure for major industrial emitters in the Mizushima cluster.
The cluster is expected to handle around 3.43 mln tons of liquefied CO2 per year, which would make it the largest planned CO2 shipping hub among CCS clusters currently being developed in Japan.
The project is designed to reduce costs by sharing liquefaction, storage and shipping infrastructure across the industrial complex, where steel, chemical, automotive and energy companies operate. CCS is seen as an important decarbonization option for industries where electrification and renewable energy alone are difficult to apply.
The six companies will carry out design and feasibility studies with the aim of developing a shared CCS value chain and establishing a model for industrial-scale decarbonization at Mizushima.
JFE Steel Corporation is a major steel producer formed in 2002 by the merger of NKK and Kawasaki Steel. As the core steelmaking arm of JFE Holdings, it manufactures a wide range of high-value-added steel products and operates integrated steel plants across Japan, while maintaining a significant footprint in India, China, and North America.