According to the company’s website press release on October 26, 2022, ITOCHU Corporation (headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo; Keita Ishii, President & COO; hereinafter "ITOCHU") announced today that it has concluded a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Électricité de France (headquartered in France; hereinafter "EDF"), France's largest power utility, and Tuas Power Ltd. (headquartered in Singapore; hereinafter "Tuas Power"), a Singapore-based power generation company, for cooperation in the fields of green hydrogen and ammonia to help realize a decarbonized society.
The MOU was signed in Singapore International Energy Week (SIEW) 2022, organized by the Energy Market Authority under the Ministry of Trade and Industry of Singapore. The three companies will examine specific projects that will leverage each company's knowledge, starting with a global renewable energy project to help realize a decarbonized society. The companies will also develop projects to create an ammonia supply chain derived from green hydrogen, extending from producing green ammonia to supplying it, not limited to, as a fuel for power generation and as a marine fuel.
Ammonia is a hydrogen carrier that can be efficiently transported and stored at low cost. The substance is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions when used as a raw material for fertilizers, which constitute the majority of existing applications of ammonia, and a CO2-free fuel for thermal power plants, ships, etc. Unlike the conventional production methods for fossil fuels such as gas and coal, the green ammonia is produced from green hydrogen, which in turn is produced from renewable energies via an electrolysis process. For this reason, green ammonia is attracting attention as a sustainable energy resource in the next generation that will help bring CO2 emissions to close to net-zero.
ITOCHU included the contribution to SDGs and strengthening of SDG initiatives in the Basic Policies in its medium-term management plan. It has been strengthening initiatives for establishing supply chains for the stable supply of ammonia. As part of these initiatives, it is developing ammonia-fueled ships, building an international value chain for marine ammonia fuel including Singapore, conducting a feasibility study for a green ammonia supply chain in South Africa, and developing a blue ammonia* manufacturing and sales project in Canada.
Building on the foundation set by the MOU, EDF aims to globally supply hydrogen derived from the development of renewable energy. Tuas Power aims to contribute to green power generation by changing fuels for power generation to decarbonized fuel in Singapore, which intends to become a clean energy nation with net-zero emissions by 2050. ITOCHU will facilitate the development of renewable energy and pursue the building of a global supply chain for green ammonia to help realize a decarbonized society.
*Blue ammonia: Ammonia produced from conventional fossil fuel using the CCS (Carbon Capture and Storage: capture carbon dioxide from the ammonia manufacturing process and store it at underground by injection) method, etc.
