Inpex to acquire shares in Japanese hydrogen firm

Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Iwatani Corporation, and Inpex Corporation announced on October 31 that they have concluded a shareholder agreement for Inpex to acquire shares in hydrogen company Japan Suiso Energy (JSE), a joint venture between Kawasaki and Iwatani.

The agreement also includes a stock transfer agreement between Kawasaki and Inpex, which will result in the following equity stakes in JSE: Kawasaki (36.6%), Iwatani (33.4%) and Inpex (30%)

JSE was established to research, plan, invest in, and operate an international liquefied hydrogen supply chain. It is currently engaged in the liquefied hydrogen supply chain commercialisation demonstration project selected by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) Green Innovation Fund project in August 2021.

This project is intended to support the development of hydrogen liquefaction and transportation technology for commercialisation in the 2030s and the establishment of an integrated international liquefied hydrogen supply chain from Australia to Japan.

Through the operation of JSE, Kawasaki, Iwatani, and Inpex aim to steadily build a commercial-scale international liquefied hydrogen supply chain, contributing to the Japanese government's hydrogen goals and the achievement of carbon neutrality by 2050, they said.