Sumitomo Corporation and Tokyo Gas have agreed to test a megawatt-class polymer electrolyte membrane water electrolyser manufactured by ITM Power Plc at the Tokyo Gas Yokohama Techno Station in a combined hydrogen utilization demonstration experiment.

The Japanese government has established a target of carbon neutrality by 2050, with a goal of supplying more than 420 000 tpy of clean hydrogen. Green hydrogen is hydrogen created by water electrolysers using electricity derived from renewable sources of energy, and it is a trump card for carbon-free society because it produces no CO2 emissions throughout the production process. Furthermore, water electrolyser upscaling is gaining traction around the world as players seek to lower green hydrogen production costs and increase efficiency.

The operation of ITM Power’s huge water electrolyser will be verified during this demonstration. This is the first time a foreign-made large water electrolyser has been operationally verified in Japan. Sumitomo Corporation plans to deliver a 2.0 MW-class water electrolyser to Tokyo Gas Yokohama Techno Station in June 2022 and begin a joint demonstration of the electrolyser, with the hydrogen discharge pressure reduced from the product’s standard specification of 2 MPa to less than 1 MPa to comply with Japanese domestic regulations. Tokyo Gas will install the water electrolyser and run it under various operating conditions in order to better understand the performance of the latest-generation water electrolysers and to gather knowledge about the introduction of large water electrolysers, including equipment operation and facility construction. The hydrogen produced will be used at Tokyo Gas Yokohama Techno Station for hydrogen utilization research and development with the goal of attaining decarbonisation. The two companies will share the outcomes of this demonstration and use them for future commercial development.

Hajime Mori, Executive Officer, Energy Division General Manager, Energy Innovation Initiative Director, Sumitomo Corporation, said:

“Sumitomo Corporation entered into a strategic partnership with ITM Power in 2018 and has been working to introduce the company’s polymer electrolyte membrane water electrolyser into the Japanese market. ITM Power’s advanced and cost-competitive electrolysis technology is set to drive green hydrogen production projects in Japan that use large electrolysers. At Sumitomo Corporation, we will continue to accelerate our efforts to build a hydrogen-based society with the aim of achieving carbon neutrality in 2050 and realising sustainable energy cycles.”

Hisataka Yakabe, Executive Officer, General Manager of Hydrogen & Carbon Management Technology Strategy Department, Digital Innovation Division, Tokyo Gas, said:“At the Tokyo Gas Group, we are strengthening our technological development for decarbonising gas-state sources of energy in order to fulfil our ‘Challenge to Achieve Net Zero CO2’ that we set forth in our management vision ‘Compass 2030.’ Through this demonstration, we will accumulate operational know-how on large water electrolysers, accelerate their social implementation in combination with the development of direct hydrogen utilisation and methanation technologies, and contribute to achieving the government’s goal of ‘realising a carbon-neutral, decarbonised society by 2050.’”

Graham Cooley, CEO, ITM Power, said:

“It is an honour for us to deploy our first electrolyser in Japan with Tokyo Gas. Together with our partner Sumitomo Corporation, we are looking forward to demonstrating how PEM electrolysis can make a major contribution to decarbonising industry and energy in Japan. This megawatt scale product at the laboratory of such a prestigious customer will help us to become better known in the key Japanese market.”