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Nitrogen+Syngas 396 Jul-Aug 2025

21 July 2025

INPEX begins commissioning of blue ammonia demonstrator project

INPEX Corp says that it has commenced commissioning work, including the introduction of natural gas at its integrated blue hydrogen and ammonia production and utilisation demonstration test project in Kashiwazaki City, Niigata Prefecture. The project is the first of its kind in Japan to implement an integrated process from the production to the use of hydrogen and ammonia. The natural gas used as a feedstock for the process is domestically sourced from the INPEX-operated Minami-Nagaoka gas field in Niigata Prefecture. The CO2 emitted during production is injected into previously depleted gas reservoirs in the Hirai District of the Higashi-Kashiwazaki gas field (using CCUS technology) to minimise atmospheric emissions. The hydrogen produced from this project will be used to generate electricity that will be supplied to local consumers in Niigata Prefecture.

Project demonstration operations are scheduled to commence in the fall of 2025, followed by the initiation of CO2 injection into the reservoir. The production of hydrogen and ammonia as well as CO2 recovery for commissioning are being conducted under a subsidy program adopted by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organisation (NEDO), and the assessment and implementation of subsurface CO2 storage are being conducted as part of a collaborative study with the Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC).

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