Kawasaki Heavy Industries Begins Building 50-Ton-Per-Day Hydrogen Liquefaction Plant

Kawasaki Heavy Industries has started construction of a hydrogen liquefaction plant with 50 tons per day of liquefaction capacity at the Kawasaki LH2 Terminal in Ogishima, Kawasaki City, Kanagawa. The plant is scheduled for completion at the end of 2028 and will be used for a commercialization demonstration from 2030. It will serve as the liquefaction facility for the terminal being built by Japan Suiso Energy, Ltd. under a NEDO Green Innovation Fund project, and it will exceed the largest liquefaction capacity previously announced in Japan, 15 tons per day.

Key facts

Market context

Liquefied hydrogen is hydrogen cooled to roughly minus 253 degrees Celsius so it becomes dense enough to store and ship in bulk, which makes it a candidate energy carrier for moving hydrogen across long distances by sea. Demand for it is tied to decarbonization efforts in power generation, heavy industry, steelmaking, refining and transport, as well as to government support for clean hydrogen supply chains. Liquefaction is energy-intensive and capital-heavy, so the economics of hydrogen trade depend heavily on the scale and efficiency of liquefiers. Larger units can spread fixed costs over more output and reduce energy use per kilogram, which matters for suppliers and buyers comparing shipping routes and terminal investments. Projects at this scale also signal how quickly exporters and importers may build out the infrastructure needed for trade, and they can influence which producers and equipment makers gain an advantage as hydrogen markets develop.

Source: official release on global.kawasaki.com. Summary and context written by Market Krystal.