Japan’s gas industry allows gas with carbon capture in 2050 net zero plan

The Japan Gas Association said on Tuesday it would take a more flexible approach in its drive to become carbon neutral by 2050, allowing greater use of natural gas in combination with carbon capture or other decarbonisation measures.

The industry group said it was now aiming for 50-90% of gas supply by 2050 from e-methane or biogas, and 10-50% from natural gas accompanied by carbon capture or similar measures.

The group, which includes city gas suppliers, had initially set a target in 2021 for 90% e-methane, produced from green hydrogen and CO2, 5% biogas, and 5% hydrogen by 2050.

The shift comes amid growing uncertainty over global energy supply and demand following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the emergence of more decarbonisation options, Takashi Uchida, chair of the association, told a press conference.

The updated plan allows for a larger role for natural gas paired with carbon offsetting technologies such as carbon capture and storage, carbon capture and utilisation, and forest absorption, potentially covering 10–50% of future supply.

"Our intention is not to reduce the share of e-methane to 50%, but to achieve carbon neutrality through various approaches," said Uchida, noting the changes also reflected cost and technological developments.

Asked about the revised plan lowering the hydrogen target from 5% to an unspecified "few percent," Uchida said even Europe, where hydrogen has been promoted as a carbon-neutral solution for the heating sector, had come to recognise the challenges of large-scale adoption and had shifted toward using natural gas with CCS instead.

Uchida, also the chair of Tokyo Gas, reiterated that the association had not been asked by the Japanese government to purchase more U.S.-produced liquefied natural gas.

On Alaska LNG, he said there was still no clear path for how the project will be developed or brought to market.

"So, it's difficult to say at this point what our involvement might be ... or how it relates to the (Japan-U.S.) tariff discussions," he said, adding that the association had no involvement in this week's Alaska energy conference.