Japanese conglomerate to expand green hydrogen production capacity in Brisbane

Eneos, Japan’s largest oil firm, plans to expand its green hydrogen production in Queensland by 2022.

Eneos, the Japanese oil company, will begin manufacturing up to 20 kg of green hydrogen per day at its Bulwer Island facility near Brisbane in the new year. That translates to 7,300 kg of annual production assuming production runs continuously throughout the year.

The company will generate this green hydrogen using its own patented electrolysis process, which will be powered entirely by renewable energy generated on-site by a 250 kW solar array. The hydrogen will be created in the form of methylcyclohexane (MCH), which enables it to be stored and transported in liquid form until it is converted back to hydrogen in Japan.

Eneos began demonstrating green hydrogen technology in Queensland in 2018 in collaboration with Japanese engineering firm Chiyoda Corporation and the Queensland University of Technology.

The business, which controls around 50% of the Japanese petrol industry, already possesses petroleum tankers, storage tanks, and refineries used for export, which will be utilized as the hydrogen supply chain expands.

Eneos also stated earlier this year that it would create a 204 MW solar farm in western Queensland in collaboration with fellow Japanese business Sojitz, which is supposedly intended to improve the efficiency of its MCH manufacturing.