Sekisui Chemical Receives First Order for CO2-to-CO Reactor System

Sekisui Chemical has received an order from Nippon Coke & Engineering for a small-scale test reactor system based on its chemical looping technology, which converts carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide. The system will let Nippon Coke & Engineering test CCU using its own emitted CO2 and estimate potential emission reductions, with technical collaboration and commercialization studies to follow. Sekisui reports a yield of 90% or more in the CO2-to-CO reaction and is building a medium-scale test facility in Hitachinaka City, with trial operations scheduled within this fiscal year.

Key facts

Market context

Carbon monoxide is a core industrial gas and feedstock. It is used as a reducing agent in steelmaking and blast furnace operations, and it serves as a building block for producing chemicals such as methanol, acetic acid and other oxygenated products through syngas-based routes. Synthetic fuel production also relies on CO as an intermediate. Conventionally, CO is supplied from fossil-derived sources such as coke gasification, natural gas reforming, or as a byproduct of other processes, so supply is tied to those upstream industries. Routes that convert captured carbon dioxide into CO could offer a second source of this feedstock and support carbon capture and utilization strategies. Large steel producers and chemical manufacturers are the main buyers that would be affected by any shift in CO availability, and commercial viability will depend on energy use, yield at scale and the cost of competing supply.

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