Idemitsu, KEPCO unite on blue ammonia supply chain in Japan and Korea
Idemitsu, KEPCO unite on blue ammonia supply chain in Japan and Korea - Offshore Energy
Idemitsu, KEPCO unite on blue ammonia supply chain in Japan and Korea
Energy company Idemitsu Kosan has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) to collaborate on the establishment of a blue/carbon-free ammonia supply chain in Japan and Korea.
The companies will jointly do a study on the procurement, marine transportation, and supply of blue/carbon-free ammonia to each country.
According to Idemitsu, the companies will partner up for the search for ammonia production projects around the world, optimisation of marine fuel ammonia transportation costs through cooperative ship operations, and optimisation of supply and demand adjustment through mutual product exchange.
Idemitsu further informed that it plans to trial ammonia co-firing using existing naphtha cracking furnaces and coal boilers at the Tokuyama Complex (Shunan City, Yamaguchi Prefecture), with a view to supplying CO2-free ammonia to neighbouring industrial complexes by establishing an ammonia import terminal utilising its existing infrastructure in the future, while KEPCO aims to co-fire CO2-free ammonia at its own coal-fired power plants.
In 2023, Idemitsu announced several clean energy projects, including a feasibility study of clean hydrogen production in Japan generated from waste, including municipal waste.
Related Knowledge Center: Climate economics
Climate change is now a driver of the world’s economy. The impact is profound:
- Catastrophic weather events — hurricanes, floods, droughts, high temperatures — are more frequent and more extreme. The cost can be measured in both the initial damage caused and the longer-term impact on the economy.
- Vulnerable communities are increasing climate-related investments, hardening infrastructure and taking other protective measures.
- Investment in carbon capture and storage technologies is increasingly rapidly.
- Governments are making investments and crafting regulations to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
On top of all of this is the cost of uncertainty. As the Fourth National Climate Assessment, released in 2018 by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, says, “The assumption that current and future climate conditions will resemble the recent past is no longer valid.”