INPEX Corp. has announced that it has begun ammonia production under Demonstration Project – the Integrated Blue Hydrogen and Ammonia Production and Utilization Demonstration Project in Kashiwazaki City, Niigata Prefecture, and has begun delivering the ammonia to Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Company, Inc. – MGC.
The Demonstration Project, which uses hydrogen and ammonia as clean energy sources that do not emit carbon dioxide when used, is the first project in Japan to incorporate the entire hydrogen and ammonia value chain from production to utilization. INPEX has completed integrated demonstration operations from hydrogen production to ammonia production with the start of ammonia production and supply. As part of ammonia production under Demonstration Project, INPEX will also acquire knowledge on hydrogen and ammonia production and supply and utilize the results of the Demonstration Project to optimize studies when it comes to future large-scale low-carbon solution businesses.
The feedstock gas for producing hydrogen and ammonia is domestic natural gas from the Minami-Nagaoka Gas Field and is operated by INPEX in Nagaoka City, Niigata Prefecture. As part of a carbon capture, utilization, and storage- CCUS initiative, the carbon dioxide produced as a by-product at the time of the production process is introduced into a subsurface reservoir in the Hirai area of the Higashi-Kashiwazaki Gas Field, wherein the gas production has already ended, thereby decreasing atmospheric carbon dioxide emissions.
It is worth noting that the Demonstration Project is producing ammonia from hydrogen by utilizing a low-temperature and low-pressure ammonia synthesis technology established by Tsubame BHB Co., Ltd. – the Technology. The technology uses a proprietary electride catalyst so as to facilitate ammonia synthesis with higher efficiency at lower temperature and lower pressure than the traditional Haber-Bosch process.
This is anticipated to facilitate more compact plants and lower the energy needed for ammonia production. The technology also allows for localized on-site production near demand and is projected to have a significant part in realizing decentralized ammonia supply in the times to come.
The Demonstration Project’s hydrogen and ammonia production facilities and carbon dioxide capture processes are being executed under a subsidized project approved by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization – NEDO as a component of its program titled Development of Technologies for Fuel Ammonia Production and Utilization / Technology Development for Blue Ammonia Production.
They are implementing and evaluating geological carbon dioxide storage in a joint research project with the Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security – JOGMEC called Demonstration Project to Assess CO₂ Storage Capacity in Depleted Oil and Gas Fields in Japan for Decarbonization through Natural Gas Utilization and Related Initiatives.
In February 2025, INPEX unveiled its INPEX Vision 2035, which anticipates achieving a Responsible Energy Transition. Under the vision, INPEX will aim to broaden the provision of low-carbon solutions centered on CCS as well as hydrogen by 2035. The fact is that the Demonstration Project is a major turning point on this path. INPEX will continue advocating initiatives through the project to help realize a carbon-neutral society.