Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) agreed today with The Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc. (KEPCO) to install a CO2 capture pilot plant at Himeji No.2 power plant in Hyogo, Japan. This new plant is being established to demonstrate the next-generation CO2 capture technology as a substitution of the existing pilot plant installed at Nanko Power Station in 1991, and MHI aims to start operation in FY2025.
The pilot plant will be installed for R&D of CO2 capture technology and will use flue gas from the gas turbine at Himeji No.2 Power Station, with a capture capacity at approximately 5 tons/day. By demonstrating the next-generation CO2 capture technology, which has been jointly developed under an agreement (Note) with ExxonMobil since 2022, the plant will accelerate R&D aimed at reducing environmental impact and costs, and further strengthen its competitiveness.
In addition, by implementing a remote monitoring system of ΣSynX (Sigma Syncs) Supervision, MHI’s digital innovation brand, it will be possible to monitor the operation status of this plant at MHI Yokohama Building and other sites, and to automatically start and stop operations by remote control.
MHI Group has formally declared its intent to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040, and is now working strategically to decarbonize both the energy demand and supply sides. A core element of the Company’s “Energy Transition,” which targets decarbonization on the energy supply side, is the development of a CO2 solutions ecosystem integrating diverse sources of carbon emissions with modes for carbon storage and utilization. Going forward, MHI Group will continue to solidly pursue its carbon dioxide capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) business built on its unique CO2 capture technology, and as a solutions provider, contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions on a global scale, and further develop solutions that help protect the environment.