Osaka Gas eyes e-methane production in the US
Osaka Gas has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with energy infrastructure business Tallgrass MLP Operations and ag-tech company Green Plains to conduct a joint feasibility study on a project to produce synthetic methane (e-methane) by methanation in the US Midwest, the Japanese company said on December 22.
The project partners aim to produce e-methane from natural gas-based blue hydrogen and biomass-based carbon dioxide that will be captured at bioethanol refineries owned and operated by Green Plains.
The targeted e-methane production volume is up to 200,000 metric tons/year by 2030, Osaka Gas said, adding the possibility of utilising green hydrogen in the future is also included in the scope of the joint study.
E-methane is a gaseous energy carrier that can be transported and used in the existing gas infrastructure and appliances without the enormous costs of replacing or modifying them, the company said.
The project is scheduled to complete the feasibility study by around July 2023. The joint study includes the technological assessment for a blue hydrogen plant and an e- methane plant as well as the site analysis for the carbon capture and storage (CCS) of CO2 generated in hydrogen production.
Concurrently, Osaka Gas plans to examine the schemes to liquefy e-methane at Freeport LNG and transport it to Japan.
Osaka Gas said this project is part of its initiatives to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. Furthermore, Osaka Gas is conducting multiple e-methane studies around the world, including Australia, Southeast Asia, North America, and South America.