Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) is seeking a higher budget for the next fiscal year to fund projects that will support domestic energy transition. The proposed budget stood at ￥490.2 billion ($4.6 billion), representing a 15% increase from this fiscal year. The ministry argued that falling fossil fuel demand due to the coronavirus pandemic provided an opportunity to shift toward decarbonization. This will cover phasing out old coal power plants and developing carbon transportation and recycling technologies.
The proposed budget for the fiscal year 2021-2022 to phase out coal power plants stood at ￥24.4 billion, 25.8% higher than the ongoing fiscal year. Minister Hiroshi Kajiyama in July called for plans to phase out old coal power plants by the end of this decade. The ministry is working on a pilot project to enable an ultra-supercritical coal power plant to burn 20% ammonia in 2023. The country is set to receive the world’s first cargo of blue ammonia shipped from Saudi Arabia. A thermal power plant emits no CO2 when burning Ammonia which contains about 18% hydrogen.
METI also requested a ￥6.53 billion budget to develop a pilot project in CO2 transportation. This will be part of a ￥53 billion budget for a broader project that involves carbon capture, utilization, storage, and recycling. The proposed budget for carbon recycling is 21.3% higher than the previous fiscal year. According to METI officials, the CO2 transport project would include a dual-purpose tanker, carbon recycling plants, as well as CO2 liquefaction and transportation facilities. The carbon will be recycled to produce methanol.
