In late August 2023, Sempra Infrastructure, a subsidiary of Sempra, announced an agreement to work with a Japanese consortium to evaluate a project proposed for the U.S. Gulf Coast that would produce e-natural gas, a synthetic gas derived from renewable hydrogen and recycled carbon dioxide.
The consortium consists of Tokyo Gas Company, Osaka Gas Company, Toho Gas Company and Mitsubishi Corporation. If successful, officials say the project could establish the “first link” of an international supply chain of liquefied e-natural gas, something they maintain could help create a more secure energy future.
According to Sempra Infrastructure officials, the e-natural gas, which is commonly known as e-methane in Japan, would allow the use of existing natural gas infrastructure. And because the carbon for the e-natural gas is envisioned to be captured from industrial suppliers, no new carbon emissions would be created from the production of the e-natural gas.
The project is anticipated to produce 130,000 tons of e-natural gas per year that would be liquefied in Southwest Louisiana and then exported to Japan. While initially expected to advance the decarbonization goals of Japan, the project could serve as a model for similar projects elsewhere.
The consortium has been conducting preliminary feasibility work on the project since 2022.
“The project would allow existing natural gas infrastructure, including the global liquefied natural gas supply chain and the gas distribution systems in nations across the world, to be used as the backbone for the delivery of a long-term, carbon-neutral fuel,” Justin Bird, CEO of Sempra Infrastructure, said in a release. “Sempra Infrastructure has a strong strategic alignment with the goals of the consortium and is well positioned to support this innovative opportunity by building on what we do well: developing energy infrastructure that provides access to safe, secure, affordable lower- and zero-carbon energy for our global partners.”
The U.S. Department of Energy and Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry are implementing a memorandum of cooperation in the field of carbon capture, utilization and storage, conversion and recycling, and carbon dioxide removal. This proposed project would meet many of the objectives in the memorandum and could complement it, should the policy frameworks recognize e-natural gas as a carbon-neutral fuel.