Japan invests A$2.35bn in world’s first liquefied hydrogen supply chain

Japan has committed A$2.35 billion to the Hydrogen Energy Supply Chain (HESC) project, Australia’s most advanced clean hydrogen project.

The HESC Project has the potential to reduce global CO2 emissions by 1.8 million tonnes/year. This is the equivalent to taking approximately 350,000 petrol engine cars off the road.

The investment from the Japanese Government’s Green Innovation Fund will enable the project to enter the commercialisation demonstration phase. This follows the project’s world-first shipment of liquefied hydrogen to Japan in February 2022.

Building the world’s first commercial-scale liquefied hydrogen supply chain

A joint venture between J-POWER and Sumitomo Corporation will produce clean hydrogen via extraction from Latrobe Valley coal with carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS). The joint venture is expected to supply 30,000 tonnes of clean hydrogen a year.

Japan Suiso Energy (JSE), comprising Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Iwatani Corporation, will design and build commercial-scale facilities at the Port of Hastings in Victoria. The facilities will liquefy and ship the clean hydrogen from the Port of Hastings to the Port of Kawasaki in Japan.

‘After a decade of working together with the Japanese, Australian and Victorian Governments, our efforts to establish a world-first clean hydrogen energy supply chain have been rewarded,’ says Dr. Eiichi Harada, CEO of Japan Suiso Energy.

‘This is truly a watershed moment for our combined efforts to decarbonise global energy production. This commitment of A$2.35 billion gives all participants in the hydrogen supply chain the confidence to progress to the next stage of commercialisation.’