Mitsubishi Corporation (MC), Takasago Thermal Engineering Co., Ltd. (TTE), Hokkaido Electric Power Company (HEPCO), and Air Water Hokkaido Inc. (AWH) are pleased to announce our signing of a joint development agreement to jointly discuss the provision of green hydrogen in Hokkaido's Chitose area.

 

Hydrogen can be produced by electricity and other sources of energy, and because it does not emit CO2 when burned, it is expected to play a significant role in realizing carbon neutrality. The Basic Hydrogen Strategy, updated by the Japanese government in June 2023, well refers to the importance of establishing a domestic supply chain of hydrogen from the viewpoint of Japan’s energy policy. Furthermore, a broad range of industries has shown high expectations toward the utilization of hydrogen not only as next generation fuels but also as raw materials in the production of ammonia, methane and other chemicals.

 

Chitose is the area of home to the Hokkaido's aviation gateway, where it has New Chitose Airport, surrounded by industrial zones occupied by a variety of manufacturers. The fact that the area has been selected as the site for the next-generation semiconductor plant will likely fuel the need for green hydrogen as a means of decarbonization. In February 2022, Chitose City announced their "Zero Carbon City Chitose" agenda, which outlines a local-production-for-local-consumption green hydrogen plan intended to help the city achieve carbon neutrality by the year 2050.

 

On May 31, 2024, our “Feasibility Study on the green hydrogen supply in Chitose City and the related infrastructure development in view of collaboration with other locations throughout Hokkaido” was adopted eligible by Japan's Agency for Natural Resources and Energy for the subsidy designed to support the cluster development. Building upon the joint development agreement and taking into consideration the needs of our customers, MC, TTE, HEPCO and AWH will investigate site location suitable for hydrogen supply and storage, and verify optimal transportation methods to realize green hydrogen local-production-for-local-consumption.

 

With the support from Hokkaido Prefecture, Chitose City and our valued customers, we aim to establish a hydrogen cluster by 2030 and materialize the green hydrogen supply chain in the wider Chitose area by collaborating with projects in other locations.

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Based on the Three Corporate Principles, which serve as MC’s core philosophy, MC has continued to grow together with society by contributing to the sustainable development of society through its business activities while pursuing value creation. MC’s revised “Materiality” was announced in Midterm Corporate Strategy 2024 as a set of crucial societal issues that MC will prioritize through its business activities, towards the strategy’s goal of continuous creation of MC Shared Value (MCSV). Guided by this Materiality, MC will continue to strengthen its efforts towards sustainable corporate growth. Out of the six material issues relating to “Realizing a Carbon Neutral Society and Striving to Enrich Society Both Materially and Spiritually”, this project’s activities particularly support “Contributing to Decarbonized Societies” and “Addressing Regional Issues and Growing Together with Local Communities”.