Iwatani to open office in Australia to accelerate hydrogen expansion

Iwatani, a Japanese gas supplier, wants to open an office in Brisbane, Australia’s west coast, in July, with the goal of accelerating the expansion of its hydrogen supply chain.

Iwatani’s goal is to commercialize hydrogen production in Australia and send it to Japan by 2030. The Brisbane office will strengthen Iwatani’s ties to Australian businesses and the Queensland state government, particularly in respect to its green hydrogen project with Queensland’s state-owned power company Stanwell. Additionally, the office will facilitate the firm’s research into the Australian market and infrastructural requirements.

The company has experimented with manufacturing liquified carbon-free hydrogen from brown coal in southern Victoria, Australia, and has made exports to Japan’s eastern Hyogo prefecture’s Kobe hydrogen port. Iwatani was one of six members of the CO2-free Hydrogen Energy Supply-chain Technology Research Association that worked on the project.

Iwatani has also begun feasibility studies with Stanwell and Australian iron ore company Fortescue Metals on green hydrogen generation and imports to Japan. The companies intend to produce carbon-free hydrogen through the use of renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power.

Japanese industries are encouraging green hydrogen and ammonia production through the use of renewable energy to contribute to the country’s decarbonisation goal of 2050.