Osaka Gas Boosting E-Methane Production, Procurement

Osaka, May 7 (Jiji Press)–Osaka Gas Co. is boosting efforts to produce and procure synthetic methane, or e-methane, regarded as a key to promoting the decarbonization of city gas. The Japanese gas supplier is preparing to procure e-methane from the United States while having started test operations of one of the world’s largest synthetic methane plants. Amid the increasing risks of liquefied natural gas supply disruptions reflecting the ongoing Middle East tensions, Osaka Gas hopes to diversify procurement networks. E-methane is produced by combining hydrogen generated from renewable energy sources and carbon dioxide. As CO2 used in the manufacturing process is collected from the air, the amount of the heat-trapping gas in the air does not increase after the combustion of the synthetic gas. Osaka Gas plans to replace 1 pct of the feedstock for its city gas with e-methane in fiscal 2030. At the 2025 World Exposition in the western Japan city of Osaka, the firm conducted a test project to produce e-methane from garbage generated at the venue of the event and use it at kitchens at facilities including a state guesthouse. The test operations of the world-class e-methane plant, located in the city of Nagaoka, Niigata Prefecture, central Japan, started in February this year. The facility, built jointly with major Japanese natural resource developer Inpex Corp., has an annual production capacity equivalent to gas consumption at about 10,000 households. Osaka Gas has started injecting the synthetic gas into existing natural gas pipelines. As part of procurement efforts, Osaka Gas and two other Japanese firms–Toho Gas Co. and major trader Itochu Corp.–have participated in a project led by a subsidiary of major French energy company TotalEnergies to produce e-methane at a plant in Nebraska. The plant is expected to start operations in fiscal 2030, with its production capacity seen reaching some 75,000 tons annually, one of the largest in the world. The e-methane to be produced at the plant will be exported to Japan using existing pipelines and LNG facilities in the United States. Pipelines and other existing facilities for natural gas can be used for e-methane because they have the same main components. E-methane production, however, remains expensive at present, requiring the development of mass production technologies to lower costs. “We will bring together all of our technology development capabilities” to play a leading role in the adoption of e-methane, Osaka Gas President Masataka Fujiwara said. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]