Japanese industry giant Kawasaki Heavy Industries has signed an MoU with Fortescue Metals Group and Iwatani Corporation for investigation of a business model for the supply of liquefied hydrogen from renewable energy. As part of this MoU, the three companies will assess the establishment of integrated liquefied green hydrogen supply chains. This will include hydrogen production and liquefaction using electricity from renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power in Australia and overseas. The green hydrogen so produced will be transported by marine carrier for delivery and distribution in Japan.
Kawasaki is a manufacturer of hydrogen related equipment and has been developing projects in every phase of the hydrogen value chain including production (hydrogen liquefier), transportation (liquefied hydrogen marine carrier), storage (liquefied hydrogen storage tank), and utilization (hydrogen-fueled gas turbine). Kawasaki is also present in other areas of renewable energy including biomass, bioethanol and geothermal power.
Fortescue Metals Group is a global leader in the iron ore industry and is pursuing new opportunities in renewable energy and green industries, including the establishment of bulk export markets for clean hydrogen. Meanwhile, Iwatani is a leading liquefied hydrogen supplier in Japan and is capable of producing 120 million m3 of liquefied hydrogen annually. It also has compressed hydrogen plants at 10 locations nationwide and has a 70 per cent share of the hydrogen market in Japan.
Kawasaki and Iwatani have participated in the Hydrogen Energy Supply Chain (HESC) Pilot Project between Japan and Australia, working towards creating a hydrogen energy society. The HESC is a first of its kind project to produce hydrogen in Victoria (Australia) and export it to Japan. The pilot project will run from 2018 to 2021 to test the supply chain from Australia to Japan.