Mitsui & Co., Mitsui Chemicals, IHI Corporation, and The Kansai Electric Power Co., (Kansai) today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) regarding a joint study to establish a hydrogen and ammonia supply chain based in the Osaka coastal industrial zone.

Hydrogen and ammonia are energy sources that can be used to achieve carbon neutrality, as they do not emit CO2 during combustion.

Given that the technologies for production, transportation, and storage of ammonia for fertilizer and industrial applications have already been established, ammonia is expected to be utilized across a wide range of fields, including as a fuel for power generation, and for heat generation in the industrial sector.

Based on the MOU, the four companies will study the development of bases for receiving, storing, and supplying ammonia in the Osaka coastal industrial zone, and conduct surveys to expand the use of ammonia in the Kansai and Setouchi regions.

Discussions have already begun with Kobe Steel, Ltd., which is a potential candidate that could benefit from the utilization of ammonia as it has announced a commitment to achieving carbon neutrality in the electric power business.

Through this initiative, Mitsui, which holds the top share of ammonia imports to Japan, Mitsui Chemicals, which owns chemical plants in the Sakai-Senboku Coastal Industrial Zone of Osaka, IHI, which is building a value chain with its extensive ammonia-related technologies, and Kansai, which operates energy businesses in the Kansai region, will combine their experience and knowledge to contribute to the realization of a zero carbon society.