BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 23. Japan’s INPEX
Corporation has started ammonia production at its Integrated Blue
Hydrogen and Ammonia Production and Utilization Demonstration
Project in Kashiwazaki, Niigata Prefecture, and begun supplying the
product to Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Company (MGC), the company said
on October 23.


The project is the first in Japan to integrate the entire
hydrogen and ammonia value chain, from production to utilization,
bringing together technologies intended to support the use of
hydrogen and ammonia as lower-carbon energy sources.


“With the commencement of ammonia production and supply, INPEX
has achieved integrated demonstration operations covering the
process from hydrogen production through ammonia production,” the
company said.


INPEX said the experience gained from producing and supplying
hydrogen and ammonia would inform optimization studies for future
large-scale low-carbon solutions.


Domestic natural gas and carbon capture


The project uses natural gas produced at INPEX’s Minami-Nagaoka
Gas Field in Nagaoka, also located in Niigata Prefecture, as
feedstock for hydrogen and ammonia production.


Carbon dioxide generated as a by-product of the process is
injected into an underground reservoir in the Hirai area of the
Higashi-Kashiwazaki Gas Field, where gas production has ceased. The
process forms part of a carbon capture, utilization and storage
(CCUS) initiative aimed at reducing CO₂ emissions into the
atmosphere.


Ammonia is produced from hydrogen using a low-temperature,
low-pressure synthesis technology developed by Tsubame BHB Co. The
technology relies on a proprietary electride catalyst and enables
ammonia synthesis at lower temperatures and pressures than the
conventional Haber-Bosch process.


According to INPEX, the technology could allow for more compact
production facilities and lower energy consumption. It also enables
production close to demand centres, potentially supporting a more
decentralized ammonia supply model.







Government-backed research and decarbonization
strategy


The hydrogen and ammonia production facilities, together with
the CO₂ capture processes, are being developed under a subsidized
project selected by Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Technology
Development Organization (NEDO) as part of its programme for
developing fuel ammonia production and utilization technologies,
including blue ammonia production.


The geological CO₂ storage demonstration and evaluation are
being conducted under a joint research project with the Japan
Organization for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC), focusing on
assessing CO₂ storage capacity in depleted oil and gas fields in
Japan.


In February 2025, INPEX announced its INPEX Vision 2035
strategy, which sets out its ambition to advance a “Responsible
Energy Transition.”


“Under the vision, INPEX aims to expand the provision of
low-carbon solutions centered on CCS and hydrogen by 2035,” the
company said.


INPEX described the demonstration project as an important
initiative supporting that objective, adding that it would continue
efforts to contribute to the realization of a carbon-neutral
society.


INPEX is Japan’s largest exploration and production company,
with oil and gas development and operations worldwide. Alongside
its core business, the company is pursuing lower-carbon solutions,
including carbon capture and storage (CCS), hydrogen and integrated
power supply.