Last month, Japan Suiso Energy Ltd (JSE) and three Japanese shipping companies — Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd (K LINE), Mitsui OSK Lines Ltd (MOL), and Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK) — agreed to join JSE Ocean Ltd (JSE Ocean), a subsidiary of JSE, which remains the majority shareholder.

Japan’s Basic Hydrogen Strategy, revised by the Japanese government in June 2023, identifies hydrogen as the alternative to fossil fuels as it targets decarbonisation. In the strategy, Japan commits to a target of 3 million tonnes/year of hydrogen by 2030, 12 million tonnes/year by 2040, and 20 million tonnes/year by 2050.

The target hydrogen supply cost, at the point of arrival in Japan, is about JPY30/Nm3 (N=normal) in 2030 and JPY20/Nm3 in 2050. To achieve these price and volume targets, and create a secure global supply chain, transport by ship is deemed crucial.

In August 2021, Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organisation (NEDO), allocated a grant from the Japanese government’s Green Innovation Fund to JSE, Iwatani Corporation, and ENEOS Corporation for the ‘Liquefied Hydrogen Supply Chain Commercialisation Demonstration Project’.

In this project, JSE will establish the world’s first large-scale hydrogen liquefaction and transportation technology, involving an initial 30,000 tonnes of hydrogen per year before upscaling. JSE will also demonstrate a comprehensive and reliable global liquefied hydrogen (LH2) supply chain, covering hydrogen production, liquefaction, export from Australia, marine transportation, and import.

JSE was established in June 2021 with the main objectives of research, planning, management, and investment in the international supply chain of LH2. Current shareholder composition is Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd 66.6% and Iwatani Corporation 33.4%.