Japanese companies back Hazer Group's waste to hydrogen technology with plant plans
Australian hydrogen innovators Hazer Group have signed an MOU to investigate developing a a Hazer production facility in Japan
Hydrogen innovators Hazer Group has announced it has signed a MOU with Chubu Electric, a global energy supply company, and Chiyoda Corporation, a global engineering company, to jointly prepare a Project Development Plan for a Hazer production facility in the Chubu region in Japan. This MOU is an outcome of the longstanding strategic collaboration between Chiyoda Corporation and Hazer.
Hazer, Chubu Electric and Chiyoda have agreed to work collaboratively towards a clean hydrogen and graphitic carbon production hub based on Hazer’s proprietary technology.
In September 2019, the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) approved up to $9.41 million in funding to Hazer Group for the construction and operation of a groundbreaking hydrogen production facility in Munster, Western Australia. That project is ongoing.
The HAZER® Process enables the effective conversion of natural gas and similar feedstocks, into hydrogen and high quality graphite, using iron ore as a process catalyst.
Chubu Electric Power plans to use the produced hydrogen as a fuel for power generation, and other hard to abate industries, as well as mobility, in the Nagoya area.
The Project’s planned production facility will have a target ultimate hydrogen production capacity of between 50,000 and 100,000 tonne per annum (“tpa”), planned to be achieved in stages. The initial hydrogen production capacity is currently anticipated to be between 2,500 and 10,000 tonne per annum.
The parties have agreed to complete the PDP during 1H 2024, and will concurrently develop the relevant definitive partnership and commercial agreements to advance the Project with commitment, targeting the initial start-up of the facility in the late 2020s.
Glenn Corrie, Managing Director of Hazer Group Limited, said: “Hazer has always viewed Japan as an important and strategic market for the deployment of our unique technology. By integrating our technology into the existing energy value chain, we can contribute to the decarbonisation of hard-to- abate sectors such as power generation, heavy industry and mobility."
On 4 April 2023, the Japanese Government announced its plans to increase its hydrogen supply target to 12 million tonne per annum by 2040, or a sixfold increase over the current target of 2 million tonne per annum. This is in addition to the already existing use of hydrogen in industrial sectors.
