Hydrogen
Japan ignites hydrogen race with construction of world-first LH2 terminal
The terminal will feature a 50,000 m³ liquefied hydrogen storage tank
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By ICN Bureau | December 03, 2025
Japan Suiso Energy (JSE) and Kawasaki Heavy Industries has broken ground on a facility they say will anchor the world’s first commercial-scale liquefied hydrogen supply chain.
At a ceremony in Kawasaki City, officials marked the start of construction for the Kawasaki LH2 Terminal, a massive Ogishima-based complex that JSE will oversee and a Kawasaki-led joint venture will design and build. The terminal is the centerpiece of the “Liquefied Hydrogen Supply Chain Commercialization Demonstration” project, backed by Japan’s Green Innovation Fund through NEDO.
Planned as the world’s first commercial facility capable of handling liquefied hydrogen at scale, the terminal will feature a 50,000 m³ liquefied hydrogen storage tank — the largest on the planet — along with maritime loading and unloading systems, hydrogen liquefaction equipment, gas-supply infrastructure, and dispatch facilities for lorry transport.
The companies also revealed that a future liquefied hydrogen carrier, with a capacity of roughly 40,000 m³, will rank among the largest vessels of its kind. Paired with the terminal, it is expected to form “a critical foundation for the full-scale operation of the future hydrogen supply chain.”
By FY2030, JSE and Kawasaki plan to bring both the terminal and the new carrier online, establishing benchmarks for “performance, safety, durability, reliability, economics, commercialization” in Japan’s first commercial international hydrogen network.
From 2030 onwards, the partners aim to begin importing liquefied hydrogen to Japan aboard specialized carriers, storing it at the Kawasaki LH2 Terminal, and supplying it to domestic hydrogen users.
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