Weekly Japanese Industry and Policy News (June 9-June 15, 2023)

The EU-Japan Centre is pleased to start a new weekly service by publishing brief summary of the latest information from the Japanese governmental organizations & private companies/organizations. A couple of minutes reading to be informed about what is happening in Japan's policy, economy, EU-Japan relations, and innovation.

*Information is deemed correct at the time of release. 

GOGMEC invests in Waterberg platinum group metal project in South Africa
JOGMEC announced June 9 that it decided to invest in the Waterberg platinum group metal project in Limpopo, South Africa, in which Hanwa Co., Ltd. participates, and made the first investment on June 9, 2023. At the request of Hanwa, JOGMEC will invest up to US$ 7.2 million, which is 75% of the expenses required for exploration projects (total of US$ 9.6 million), through HJ Platinum Metals Co., Ltd., in which Hanwa has invested. have decided.

In 2009, JOGMEC concluded a joint exploration agreement with Platinum Group Metals (PTM) of Canada, the operator of this project, and has been conducting joint exploration activities (JV survey). In 2018, Hanwa Kogyo participated in this project by taking over part of the interest held by JOGMEC. This project will be the first project to realize seamless support from JOGMEC's JV survey to handover to a private company and investment in exploration.

Platinum group is a general term for six elements: platinum, palladium, rhodium, iridium, ruthenium and osmium. In particular, platinum and palladium are widely used in industrial applications such as fuel cells and exhaust gas catalysts for automobiles, and play an important role from the perspective of decarbonization. The presence of large-scale, high-grade platinum group metals (resource amount: 242 million tons; average grade: 3.38 g/t) has been confirmed in this project. And, cost competitiveness is expected because mechanized mining is possible.

JOGMEC website:
https://www.jogmec.go.jp/english/news/release/news_10_00035.html

Bridgestone pyrolyzes used tires to recycle oil and carbon 
Bridgestone announced on June 8 that it has started an initiative to pyrolyze used tires to produce cracked oil and recycled carbon black. It will carry out a demonstration experiment of a technology to produce recycled oil from cracked oil obtained by precision pyrolysis of used tires and to produce chemical products such as butadiene, a raw material for synthetic rubber. A large-scale demonstration with ENEOS is planned, assuming mass production by 2030.

As Bridgestone is studying a design technology for polymer materials such as high-performance rubber, and ENEOS is researching and developing a technology to refine butadiene etc. from cracked oil obtained by precision pyrolysis. Bridgestone considers chemical recycling of used tires to be one of the important measures to realize a circular economy, which aims to use 100% sustainable materials by 2050.

Bridgestone website:
https://www.bridgestone.com/corporate/news/2023060801.html

Itochu forms partnership with UK CFP to expand emissions trading
ITOCHU Corporation announced on June 9 that it has entered into a business alliance with CFP, a British company that sells emissions credits in Europe, to expand emissions trading, in anticipation of the introduction of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).

CFP is an environmental solutions company that provides not only emissions credits, but also renewable energy and other decarbonized products, as well as price risk management services. Since its founding in 2006, it has a track record of trading more than 2.5 billion tons of emissions credits, and achieved sales of about $3 billion in a single year in 2022.

ITOCHU will support emissions trading, especially in Japan and other Asian countries, as a sales window for emissions credits procured and held by CFP. Furthermore, jointly with the company, it will hold seminars based on the actual situation of EU-ETS for customers in a wide range of industries, disseminate industry information, and promote the provision of solutions that meet the needs of each customer. The idea is to develop the needs for initiatives related to emissions and to sell emissions credits.

ITOCHU website:
https://www.itochu.co.jp/ja/news/press/2023/230609.html

JOGMEC Selects "Advanced CCS Project"
On June 13, the Japan Energy and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC), an independent administrative agency, selected seven CCS projects with the goal of large-scale and overwhelming cost reduction in order to fully develop the CCS business toward the realization of carbon neutrality in 2050. Seven projects were recognized as "advanced CCS projects".

The seven projects selected this time are those in areas such as Hokkaido, Kanto, Chubu, Kinki, Setouchi, Kyushu, etc., where a wide range of business fields such as power generation, petroleum refining, steel, chemicals, paper/pulp, and cement is existing. It aims to store a total of 6 to 12 million tons of CO2 per year by 2030, of which 7 projects (5 of which are assumed to be stored in Japan, and the remaining 2 projects are assumed to be stored in Asia and Oceania) to secure approximately 13 million tons. This will make it possible to store approximately 120 to 240 million tons of CO2 annually by 2050, contributing to the stable supply of energy resources and carbon neutrality in Japan.

JOGMEC website:
https://www.jogmec.go.jp/news/release/news_01_00034.html

EnBW, VNG and JERA plan feasibility study for an ammonia cracker demonstration plant in Rostock
JERA announced on June 12 that it will start joint development of ammonia cracking (decomposition) technology for hydrogen production in collaboration with EnBW, a major German energy company, and VNG, a major German natural gas supplier. The three companies will utilize their knowledge and know-how related to hydrogen and ammonia to consider constructing a demonstration plant for ammonia decomposition technology. In the future, based on the knowledge obtained from the demonstration test, the company aims to optimize and scale up the production process, aiming to construct a plant for commercialization.

Ammonia is a decarbonized fuel that does not emit CO2 when burned, and at the same time, hydrogen can be extracted through decomposition. In order to procure hydrogen economically from overseas, the selection of hydrogen carriers is an important mission. Through this demonstration, the company expects to acquire a lot of knowledge about ammonia ahead of the rest of the world.

JERA website:
https://www.jera.co.jp/en/news/information/20230612_1493

New HondaJet, crosses the U.S. without refueling
Honda's aircraft business subsidiary, Honda Aircraft Company, announced on June 13 in the USA that it will enter the "light jet (small aircraft)" class, which is larger than existing models. It is a new model of the business jet "HondaJet" and plans to acquire type certification as a small aircraft in 2028. The new plane is fuel-efficient and able to fly across the United States without refueling.

Small jet aircraft refers to those with a maximum takeoff weight of approximately 5,670 kilograms or more and approximately 9,070 kilograms or less. The new HondaJet is expected to improve fuel efficiency by 20% compared to ordinary small aircraft, and 40% compared to medium-sized aircraft, which is one class higher. The cruising range is expected to be approximately 4,862 kilometers, assuming one crew member and four passengers. This is the first distance for a small aircraft to cross the continental United States without refueling. The maximum capacity is 11 passengers and crew.
The HondaJet, which features a jet engine mounted on the wing, began delivery in 2015. The “Elite II” currently on sale is classified as a “very light jet (ultra-small aircraft)”. The Elite II has a maximum capacity of eight people and a range of 2,865 kilometers. HondaJet sales in 2022 were 17, down 20 from 2021. A shortage of semiconductors has affected production.

Honda website:
https://global.honda/newsroom/news/2023/c230614eng.html?from=newsroom_headline_area