Carbon Recycling

Utilizing carbon dioxide (CO₂), a greenhouse gas, as a carbon resource becomes crucial in realizing a recycling-oriented society. The methanation technology developed by the IHI Group enables conversion of CO₂ into methane (CH₄) efficiently, which can then be used as clean fuel.
The heart of IHI’s Methanation technology is a unique, highly active yet robust methanation catalyst. The catalyst has been developed under the collaboration with the Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences (ICES) under A*STAR in Singapore.

Distributed Energy/Energy Management

IHI opened the Soma IHI Green Energy Center jointly with Soma City in Fukushima Prefecture in April 2018. The center is aimed at conducting demonstration tests for a future hydrogen economy. The local-production-for-local-consumption energy management system enables to fully use photovoltaic power within the center by prevent the power from flowing back to the existing grid.
In September 2020, we opened the “Soma Lab,” a development facility for the advanced hydrogen utilization technology. We regard it as a place for open innovation and will offer it to research institutions and companies that conduct leading-edge research.
As a result of these efforts, IHI won the Minister of METI Prize, the top award of New Energy Award 2020, jointly with Soma City and Pacific Power Co., Ltd.

Biomass Value Chain

The IHI Group will involve the biomass industry through production of biomass fuel including palm fuel and technologies for utilizing biomass fuel, such as co-firing in a boiler and gasification.
For example, we have developed the Twin IHI Gasifier, TIGAR®, which enables lignite and biomass to be used for various purposes by gasifying them.
In addition, we have developed the process for producing renewable fuel for a boiler by reforming and pelletizing palm biomass whose effective usage had not been found.

Utilization of Ammonia for Fuel

IHI is engaged in the use of ammonia as carbon-free fuel that can be substituted for fossil fuel.
Ammonia can be produced from carbon-free hydrogen and directly combusted.
In addition, it is suitable for large-scale applications because it is more efficient to transport ammonia than hydrogen and the techniques for manufacture, transportation, and storage are already in place.
Along with technological development for directly utilizing ammonia as fuel for gas turbines, pulverized coal-fired boilers, solid-oxide fuel cells, and reciprocating engines, IHI will make efforts to construct an ammonia supply chain through supplying and standardizing fuel ammonia.

Renewable Energy

Introducing large amount of solar power may affect voltage and periodicity in the power grid because of great fluctuations in power generation caused by the weather. To solve the problem, IHI has developed storage battery management technology for stable power supply from stations to grids. For example, the Soma IHI Green Energy Center applies this technology.

IHI Plant Services Corporation has wealth of experience in construction of large-scale plants and operation of solar power stations. The know-how from the experience is fully used in designing systems of industrial solar power generation equipment, procuring a wide variety of equipment, and installing the equipment on site.

Algae based biofuel is attracting attention as a future energy source substitutable to fossil fuel.
The New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (“NEDO”) and IHI has been developing the technology for production of bio jet fuel from microalgae.
The developed bio jet fuel received international standard certification from ASTM. And it can be used for commercial flights with being mixed with conventional jet fuel. This may further reduce CO₂ emissions from aircrafts.
We are now preparing for a successful demonstration flight with this fuel.

Carbon Negative

With the aim of realizing a carbon negative in the power generation, where CO₂ emissions are effectively negative rather than zero, IHI is accelerating pioneering technology development of oxygen combustion technology and CO₂ separation and capture technology. High-purity CO₂ can be captured by burning biomass with a boiler using oxygen separated from the air and compressing and cooling the exhaust gas.