Weekly Japanese Industry and Policy News (July 7-July 13, 2023)

The EU-Japan Centre is pleased to start a new weekly service by publishing brief summary of the latest information from the Japanese governmental organizations & private companies/organizations. A couple of minutes reading to be informed about what is happening in Japan's policy, economy, EU-Japan relations, and innovation.

*Information is deemed correct at the time of release. 

JGC HD mass-produces catalysts for synthetic fuels
JGC Holdings (HD), a major industrial plant company, announced on July 7 that it will mass-produce catalysts used in the production of "synthetic fuel" made from carbon dioxide (CO2) and hydrogen by 2030. It will be produced at two plants in Japan and supplied to petroleum wholesalers. Assuming that the demand for synthetic fuels that do not emit CO2 during production will increase due to decarbonization, the company will prepare a production system.

It will be produced by Nikki Shokubai Kasei, a subsidiary that handles catalysts used in petroleum refining. Expanded factories at Kitakyushu and Niigata offices. The production volume and the investment amount for the single catalyst have not been disclosed. Approximately JP¥ 20 billion will be invested by 2030, including the production of materials for semiconductor manufacturing.

Synthetic fuels are said to be suitable for aircraft and automobile fuels, and have the advantage of being able to use existing infrastructure such as gas stations for supply. ENEOS Holdings and Idemitsu Kosan are embarking on commercialization.

JGC HOLDINGS website:
https://www.jgc.com/en/news/2023/20230707.html

Tokyo Institute of Technology achieves the world's highest level of all-solid-state battery capacity　
A research group led by Specially Appointed Professor Ryoji Sugano of the Tokyo Institute of Technology has succeeded in improving the rapid charging performance and capacity of all-solid-state batteries. This was achieved by developing new core materials and reviewing the manufacturing process. The index that determines the performance of quick charging is up to 3.8 times higher than the current one, and the positive electrode capacity per electrode area is also improved by 1.8 times. Both are the best in the world, and were published in the US scientific journal Science.

The research group has newly developed a solid electrolyte, which is a key material for all-solid-state batteries. The new material is an improved version of the sulfide-based solid electrolyte that he and his colleagues developed in 2011, and the number of constituent elements has been increased from four to seven. The lithium-ion conductivity, which is related to fast charging performance, is 32 milli siemens per centimeter, which is about 2.3 to 3.8 times higher than that of conventional materials. If the ionic conductivity is increased, the charging time can be shortened.

The manufacturing process was also improved, and the solid electrolyte and positive electrode powder were mixed. Therefore, it is expected that the electrode drying process, which was necessary in the past, can be omitted. Lithium metal is used for the negative electrode instead of conventional graphite. The capacity of the prototype all-solid-state battery was more than 20 milliampere-hours per square centimeter of electrode, the highest ever reported.

Tokyo Institute of Technology website:
https://www.titech.ac.jp/english/news/2023/067100

Mitsui & Co. invests in Danish methanol production company
Mitsui & Co. announced on July 6 that it will acquire a 49% stake in Kasso MidCo ApS (Denmark), a methanol manufacturer, by the end of 2023. The acquisition price has not been disclosed, but is believed to be more than JP￥10 billion. A factory will be built in Denmark, and from 2012, it will produce 42,000 tons of methanol, which has almost no environmental impact, making it the world's largest scale. Kasso MidCo was launched by Danish renewable energy company European Energy to produce methanol. The company will continue to hold a 51% stake after Mitsui invests.

The methanol produced is called “green e-methanol”. Renewable energy is used to electrolyze water to create hydrogen, which is produced through a chemical reaction with carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted from livestock droppings, so it is said to have almost no environmental impact. The total investment in production, including construction costs for the factory, is expected to be several tens of JP￥ billions. It plans to use Kasso's 304,000-kilowatt photovoltaic power generation facility and wind-derived electricity purchased from an external source.The methanol produced will be sold to major shipping companies AP Moller and Maersk as fuel for ships, and will be sold as a raw material for plastics to major toy companies such as the Lego Group.

Mitsui ＆ company website:
https://www.mitsui.com/jp/en/release/2023/1246818_13943.html

Mitsui & Co. investigates Port of Tilbury, UK for use of green hydrogen
On July 7, Mitsui & Co. entered into an agreement with RWE, a subsidiary of RWE Generation SE, a major German energy company, and Port of Tilbury, the port operator of the Port of Tilbury in the UK, regarding decarbonization using green hydrogen at the Port of Tilbury. The company announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding for the purpose of conducting a feasibility study.

In this initiative, they are conducting a survey for a demonstration experiment to convert port cargo handling equipment into a hydrogen fuel cell, a survey on the demand for green hydrogen inside and outside the port, and a verification of green hydrogen production derived from renewable energy of 10,000 kW or more in anticipation of commercialization. The verification is aimed at gradually developing 100,000 kW-scale hydrogen production facilities over the next 10 years or more, with a view to decarbonization centered on ports.
The UK government has set a policy to increase the production capacity of low-carbon hydrogen to 10 million kW by 2030, and promotes the use of hydrogen in power generation, heat sources, transportation, and other industrial fields where decarbonization through electrification is considered difficult. Therefore, it is promoting the development of systems such as subsidies for manufacturers and consumers.

Tilbury Port is centrally located in Thames Freeport, a logistics hub for London and the South East. Through the efforts at the port, it is thought that it will lead to the development of hydrogen production capacity in the country and the spread of hydrogen utilization.

Mitsui & company website:
https://www.mitsui.com/jp/en/topics/2023/1246850_13949.html

Marubeni to sell new Estonian power storage equipment in 2024
Marubeni announced on July 10 that it will start selling a new high-output power storage device from 2024. The company invested several JP￥ billion in the emerging manufacturer Skeleton Technologies (Estonia), which it invested in, and the company started full-scale production using the funds. The high-output power storage device is called a "capacitor," and is expected to be used in large vehicles such as railway vehicles and construction machinery. It is expected to spread as a partial substitute for lithium-ion batteries.

General capacitors can be fully charged in less than tens of seconds, and unlike storage batteries that require chemical reactions, they do not expand or contract during charging and discharging. Therefore, it has excellent durability without deterioration even after charging and discharging are repeated millions of times. The new high-output capacitor that Skeleton is working on has the world's largest amount of energy (energy density). Duration has also improved. It can be fully charged in 2 minutes, and can run for more than 10 minutes for railway vehicles and about 30 minutes for large construction equipment. When used in railcars, the new capacitors have a lifespan of four years, four times that of lithium-ion batteries. On the other hand, the battery life is about half that of lithium-ion batteries, so it is not suitable for driving electric vehicles (EVs) that require long-distance driving on a single charge.

Skeleton plans to produce capacitors equivalent to 15,000 railway cars from 2024. It is said to be capable of supplying more than 20% of rolling stock in Japan. Marubeni is in charge of sales agency business mainly in Asia, and is proceeding with discussions with major Japanese railway vehicle manufacturers toward the introduction of capacitors.

Marubeni corporation website:
https://www.marubeni.com/en/news/2023/release/00069.html

Sumitomo Corporation, hydrogen production with UK-Australia resource giant
Sumitomo Corporation announced on July 12 that it has reached an agreement with Rio Tinto, a major British-Australian natural resource company, to start a hydrogen production experiment in Australia. The total amount of the project is about JP￥10 billion, and about JP￥ 3 billion will be subsidized by an Australian government agency. From 2025, it will produce up to 300 tons per year and use it for local alumina refining. A hydrogen production plant will be built within Rio Tinto's alumina refining plant. It purchases carbon credits to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions associated with hydrogen production to virtually zero.

Alumina refining generally uses fossil fuels such as natural gas. Refining using hydrogen is almost unheard of in the world. Through experiments, the company hopes to pave the way for commercial-scale use. Around 2030, Sumitomo aims to produce 200,000 tons of green hydrogen annually using renewable energy such as sunlight, and to supply it to a wide range of applications other than alumina refining. In the future, it is expected to expand to 500,000 tons per year and export outside Australia.

Sumitomo corporation website:
https://www.sumitomocorp.com/en/jp/news/release/2023/group/16870