Osaka Gas Co., Ltd., Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI), and IBM Japan, Ltd. have agreed to jointly conduct a Proof of Concept (PoC) of a system enabling visualization of the environmental value of synthetic methane, in the context of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions across the entire supply chain, according to MHI's release.
The system will make use of CO2NNEX™, a digital platform for visualizing the CO2 supply chain being developed by MHI and IBM Japan targeted at visualization and optimization of synthetic methane’s environmental value. In undertaking the PoC, the three partners will also exchange views with the Japan Gas Association, Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd., Toho Gas Co., Ltd., and INPEX Corporation aiming for increased adoption of synthetic methane and the establishment of its environmental value.
The PoC to be jointly implemented is an initiative aimed at visualizing CO2 emission volumes across the entire supply chain, from synthetic methane’s production to supply and combustion. The results of the PoC are expected to be useful for achieving visualization of the CO2 supply chain within CCU, setting CO2’s trading methods, transferring its environmental value, and estimating the carbon footprint of synthetic methane supply recipients.
CO2NNEX™ is a digital platform created for CCUS (CO2 capture, utilization and storage) aimed at connecting CO2-related ecosystems and accelerating the expanded use of environmental value. Under the current initiative, CO2NNEX™ will be applied to visualize original information on CO2 and hydrogen – the materials from which synthetic methane is made – and the CO2 emission volumes generated throughout synthetic methane’s lifecycle, from production to transport, supply and combustion. By providing this traceable data, a shared platform will be developed for realizing visualization of synthetic methane’s environmental value. The project also aims to incorporate future enhancement of trade – for example, through transfer of synthetic methane’s environmental values – and to develop a system to serve as an industry standard usable by other manufacturers of synthetic methane.
CO2NNEX™ is a digital platform that provides transparency and flexibility in the CO2 supply chain and its environmental values in step with the rapid expansion of the value chain linking CO2 capture, storage and utilization, toward realizing a carbon neutral society. Actual CO2-related data is interconnected through IoT, and blockchain ensures advanced security with assured neutrality and fairness.
Methanation is technology for synthesizing methane, a key component of natural gas from hydrogen and CO2. The resulting product is known as “synthetic methane.” Use (combustion) of this synthetic methane results in no effective increase in CO2 for society as a whole because CO2, which is normally emitted into the atmosphere, is captured and recycled for use in making synthetic methane. Also, methanation is expected to be an economically efficient way of achieving carbon neutrality, with synthetic methane being distributed through the existing gas infrastructure and combusted in existing gas appliances, requiring no large-scale investment for constructing new energy systems or modifying the existing ones.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) Group is one of the world’s leading industrial groups, spanning energy, smart infrastructure, industrial machinery, aerospace and defense.