In a strategic move that targets the reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, Japan’s largest power generation company JERA has partnered with oil major PETRONAS to explore a new cross-border carbon capture and storage (CCS) solution.
Having entered a joint study agreement, the companies will assess the viability of capturing CO2 emissions from JERA’s operations in Japan and transporting them to Malaysia for storage.
In 2021, the CO2 emissions in the electric power industry in Japan amounted to around 327m tonnes of CO2 equivalent. CCS and carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) is seen by many as a crucial solution for industries that have difficulty reducing CO2 emissions.
According to McKinsey, APAC could account for 55% of global CCUS by 2050, with Malaysia holding a significant amount of storage potential.
Under its National Energy Transition Roadmap, Malaysia plans to develop three CCUS hubs – two in Peninsular Malaysia and one in Sarawak.
“Malaysia has an abundance of potentially suitable sites for underground CO2 storage,” stated a JERA spokesperson. “In moving forward, the collaboration with PETRONAS can help build a global network for cross-border CO2 transport and storage.”
Up until 2011, Japan was generating some 30% of electricity from its nuclear reactors and this was expected to increase to at least 40% by 2017.
However, following the tsunami which killed 19,000 people and which triggered the Fukushima nuclear accident in March 2011, public opinion changed dramatically, leading to many protests demanding the abandonment of nuclear power.
The country is now aiming for nuclear energy to account for at least 20% of its electricity production by 2030.
In its Sixth Strategic Energy Plan adopted in October 2021, the Japanese Government targets a pathway for achieving carbon neutrality in 2050 and the earlier goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in 2030 by 46% versus 2013.
Looking at CCS technologies, a government-led project has been carrying out large-scale demonstration testing in 2016 with a CO2 injection rate of 100,000 tonnes per year, reaching a total of 300,000 tonnes in 2019.
Regarding carbon recycling, METI released its Roadmap for Carbon Recycling Technologies in the same year. This outlines the potential of capturing CO2 from the exhaust gas generated by power plants and combining it with ‘clean’ hydrogen to synthesise fuels such as methanol.
