ENEOS Corporation announces that it has concluded a memorandum with Fortescue Future Industries Pty Ltd (FFI) to conduct a study on a potential business collaboration for the development of a CO2-free hydrogen supply chain between Japan and Australia.

In anticipation of a hydrogen-oriented society toward decarbonization, ENEOS is striving to develop a CO2-free hydrogen supply chain in Japan and overseas. Outside Japan, the wide range of alliances in Australia, Middle East and Asia are being utilized to implement verification for the realization of a large-scale supply of cost-competitive hydrogen.

As a part of these initiatives, ENEOS plans to conduct a study for collaboration with a local company in Australia to develop a stable supply chain for an affordable CO2-free hydrogen (green hydrogen) produced from renewable energy. This will be achieved by utilizing Australia's excellent potential for cost-competitive hydrogen production due to its favorable climate conditions, including wind and sunlight, and expansive land.

Western Australia, which covers one-third of the Australian continent, has vast areas of land available for large-scale development of renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power.

For this reason, the state is attracting attention as one of the world’s most suitable regions for renewable energy development, with the potential to realize the most cost-competitive power supply in the future. In addition, the state government has announced its support for the hydrogen industry as a part of its policies to further grow CO2-free hydrogen production and export businesses utilizing its abundant renewable energy resources. Accordingly, the state is expected to serve as an export base for CO2-free hydrogen to Japan.

FFI, a subsidiary of one of the world’s largest iron ore producer Fortescue Metals Group Ltd, is actively developing renewable energy and hydrogen business with a number of projects to investigate supply of 100 per cent renewable green hydrogen.

In the study, the two companies will jointly examine the potential for the stable supply of affordable hydrogen produced from renewable energy in Western Australia. Specifically, FFI will study renewable energy supply and water electrolysis cells for hydrogen production. ENEOS will be responsible for more efficient production of methylcyclohexane (MCH) and maritime transport of MCH as a form of hydrogen storage and transport from Australia to Japan.