Osaka Gas, MHI to launch CO2NNEX platform for e-methane, carbon-recycled fuels
Osaka Gas and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) announced on September 25 their plan to implement CO2NNEX, the city gas industry's first digital platform for visualising traded carbon dioxide (CO2) at Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan. In addition to using this platform for e-methane, Osaka Gas and MHI aim to explore its expansion to carbon-recycled fuels such as e-fuel, SAF, and Green LPG in the future.
From April 2024, the private sector began using clean gas certificates, which certify the environmental value of e-methane and biogas. As the gas sector adopts similar practices to the non-fossil fuel certificates for electricity, a system is required to manage transactions and transfers of these clean gas certificates, the companies said. CO2NNEX will be equipped with functions to manage the attribute data of e-methane, essential for its social implementation, as well as functions for managing and transferring the environmental value of e-methane and biogas.
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The Japan Gas Association has indicated that further guidance on the platform's functionality will be provided to companies, as the implementation progresses.
During the Expo, Osaka Gas will supply guesthouses and other facilities with on-site-produced e-methane, adding the environmental value of e-methane or biogas to natural gas. The platform will manage attributed data and environmental value created during the production and use of e-methane at the Expo site. Additionally, it will transfer the environmental value of e-methane and biogas produced by city gas companies around Japan to the natural gas supplied by Osaka Gas to the Expo site, contributing further to the carbon neutrality goals of Expo 2025.
Osaka Gas aims to ensure e-methane comprises 1% of the city gas it supplies by 2030. As the value of e-methane and environmental transactions is expected to rise significantly in the future, MHI anticipates expanding the platform’s use to manage e-methane attribute data and transfer its environmental value.
Moreover, the introduction of carbon-recycling fuels other than e-methane, such as e-fuel, SAF, and Green LPG, is being considered. With the increase in trade value, a system for managing attribute data and transferring environmental value is expected to become essential.
In addition to carbon capture and utilisation (CCU), including carbon-recycled fuels, carbon capture and storage (CCS) of CO2 is expected to gain wider use, and MHI is actively exploring the possibility of expanding the platform to manage CO2 distribution. Furthermore, the platform’s introduction to Asian countries considering e-methane and SAF is also under consideration.