Inpex, Osaka Gas start work on CO2-methanation test facility in Japan

Inpex Corporation and Osaka Gas on October 24 announced the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of a CO2-methanation test facility in Japan. The facility is expected to be completed in fiscal year 2025 and will be able to produce 400 m3/hour of methane.

The test facility will be located in Nagaoka City, Niigata Prefecture and connected to Koshijihara plant at Inpex's Nagaoka field office. The facility will be connected to Inpex's natural gas trunk pipeline network, and the synthetic methane produced at the facility will be introduced into the network.

Preparatory construction and site preparation work for the test facility began in March 2023, and the main construction work began in October 2023. 

CO2 methanation is a process in which carbon dioxide is converted into methane, the main component of natural gas. The process is powered by renewable energy, such as solar or wind power.

This project is part of a joint technical development initiative that the two companies launched in 2021 targeting the practical application of a CO2-methanation system aimed at the carbon neutralisation of natural gas.