Japan to fund seven projects to advance CCS strategy

Spanish Market: Emissions, Hydrogen
13/06/23

Japan's state-owned energy agency Jogmec has selected seven potential carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects for its financial support, aiming to accelerate the development and utilisation of the technology to drive the country's decarbonisation.

The cross-industry winners of the seven projects, comprising five domestic and two overseas projects, are to begin test drilling from the April 2024-March 2025 fiscal year and confirm how much the projects will be able to store carbon dioxide (CO2). They are likely to make a final investment decision in 2026-27. Japan is aiming to start commercial CCS business from 2030-31 with its current CCS roadmap.

The seven projects, which aim to expand hub and cluster businesses and cut costs, are projected to store a combined 13mn t/yr of CO2. The projects include those that can store 1.5mn t/yr of CO2 in north Japan's Hokkaido's Tomakomai, 2mn t/yr in the Sea of Japan side of Tohoku, 1.5mn t/yr in Higashi-Niigata, 1mn t/yr in the Metropolitan area and 3mn t/yr in the Kyusyu region, along with 2mn t/yr offshore Malaysia and 2mn t/yr in an unspecified area of Australasia.

This is the government's first financial support for CCS. It is still unclear how much Jogmec will finance each project, depending on future negotiations with the winning consortiums. The trade and industry ministry (Meti) has allocated around ¥3.5bn ($25mn) in its 2023-24 initial budget to support advanced CCS projects through Jogmec.

Japan plans to achieve CO2 storage capacity of 6mn-12mn t/yr by 2030 so that the country can start its CCS business from 2030. Tokyo aims to store 120mn-240mn t/yr of CO2 by 2050, after adding the 6mn-12mn t/yr of capacity over 20 years from 2030. Meti has estimated the country could store around 70pc of 240mn t/yr of CO2 in 2050 through the domestic projects, if it could develop 20-25 areas, including the selected five domestic areas.

Japan would need to deploy CCS and carbon capture, utilisation and storage technology to offset CO2 emissions that cannot be removed in sectors such as power, refinery, steel, chemical, cement and paper production sites. Japan aims to cut its greenhouse gas emissions to 760mn t by 2030-31, down from 1.2mn t in 2019-20.

Jogmec last year expanded its funding coverage to CCS projects, as well as hydrogen and ammonia, to help reduce domestic firms' risk exposure.

By Motoko Hasegawa

Japan CCS projects selected by Jogmec
	Consortium	CO2 storage capacity (mn t)

Tomakomai	Japex, Hokkaido Electric Power, Idemitsu	1.5
Tokyo metropolitan	Inpex, Nippon Steel, Kanto Natural Gas Development	1.0
Sea of Japan, Tohoku	Itochu, Nippon Steel, Taiheiyo Cement, Inpex, MHI, Taisei	2.0
Higashi Niigata	Japex, Tohoku Electric Power, Mitsubishi Gas Chemical, Hokuetsu, NRI	1.5
Kyushu	Eneos, JX, J-Power	3.0
Offshore Malaysia	Mitsui	2.0
Australasia	Mitsubishi, Nippon Steel, ExxonMobil Asia Pacific	2.0
		Source: Jogmec

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04/04/25

EU sees no credibility issue in 2040 GHG target delay

Brussels, 4 April (Argus) — The lack of a proposal for a 2040 greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction target is not a credibility issue for the European Commission, officials said. The commission will have an "ambitious" 2040 GHG proposal in time to derive a 2035 climate plan for the EU "well in time" for the UN Cop 30 climate talks in Belem, Brazil, over 10-21 November. The commission was expected to make a legislative proposal for a 2040 EU climate target no later than six months after the conclusion of the first global stocktake under the Paris climate agreement, which concluded at Cop 28 in December 2023, as per the bloc's European Climate Law. The process is "quite late nationally and also globally", the commission acknowledged. But officials insist that the update to the climate law, setting a 2040 GHG target, will come "well in time" for the Cop process. The EU will then derive its nationally determined contribution (NDC) to the Paris deal for 2035 from 2040. The official deadline for parties to submit their updated NDC was 10 February, but only 12 countries made timely submissions. "The credibility issue is much less to do with the agenda now," climate spokesperson Anna-Kaisa Itkonen said. EU climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra has made "very, very clear" that the commission is preparing for an "ambitious climate law". "Ninety per cent is currently in the political guidelines," Itkonen said. "It is the starting point for these discussions," she added, underlining the extreme importance of presenting a 2040 proposal that has a "substantial majority". Another EU source noted that the commission is discussing various options and scenarios with EU member states and the European Parliament. "We want to keep the ambition as high as possible. So our starting point of discussion is 90pc," the source said. Discussion of 2040 flexibility — such as following a weaker trajectory toward climate neutrality, or using international credits — would have "severely negative" implications for the EU's standing in international climate action, NGO Bellona Europa's senior manager for carbon accounting, Mark Preston Aragones, said. "The commission should not come with an already watered-down proposal even before negotiations formally begin with the European Parliament and EU member states," he said. By Dafydd ab Iago Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

New tariffs could upend US tallow imports

03/04/25

New tariffs could upend US tallow imports

New York, 3 April (Argus) — New US tariffs on nearly all foreign products could deter further imports of beef tallow, a fast-rising biofuel feedstock and food ingredient that had until now largely evaded President Donald Trump's efforts to reshape global trade. Tallow was the most used feedstock for US biomass-based diesel production in January for the first month ever, with consumption by pound rising month to month despite sharp declines in actual biorefining and in use of competing feedstocks. The beef byproduct benefits from US policies, including a new federal tax credit known as "45Z", that offer greater subsidies to fuel derived from waste than fuel derived from first-generation crops. Much of that tallow is sourced domestically, but the US also imported more than 880,000t of tallow last year, up 29pc from just two years earlier. The majority of those imports last year came from Brazil, which until now has faced a small 0.43¢/kg (19.5¢/lb) tariff, and from Australia, which was exempt from any tallow-specific tariffs under a free trade agreement with US. But starting on 5 April, both countries will be subject to at least the new 10pc charge on foreign imports. There are some carveouts from tariffs for certain energy products, but animal fats are not included. Some other major suppliers — like Argentina, Uruguay, and New Zealand — will soon have new tariffs in place too, although tallow from Canada is for now unaffected because it is covered by the US-Mexico-Canada free trade agreement. Brazil tallow shipments to the US totaled around 300,000t in 2024, marking an all-time high, but tallow shipments during the fourth quarter of 2024 fell under the 2023 levels as uncertainty about future tax policy slowed buying interest. Feedstock demand in general in the US has remained muted to start this year because of poor biofuel production margins, and that has extended to global tallow flows. Tallow suppliers in Brazil for instance were already experiencing decreased interest from US producers before tariffs. Brazil tallow prices for export last closed at $1,080/t on 28 March, rising about 4pc year-to-date amid support from the 45Z guidance and aid from Brazil's growing biodiesel industry, which is paying a hefty premium for tallow compared to exports. While the large majority of Brazilian tallow exports end up in the US, Australian suppliers have more flexibility and could send more volume to Singapore instead if tariffs deter US buyers. Export prices out of Australia peaked this year at $1,185/t on 4 March but have since trended lower to last close at $1,050/t on 1 April. In general, market participants say international tallow suppliers would have to drop offers to keep trade flows intact. Other policy shifts affect flows Even as US farm groups clamored for more muscular foreign feedstock limits over much of the last year, tallow had until now largely dodged any significant restrictions. Recent US guidance around 45Z treats all tallow, whether produced in the US or shipped long distances to reach the US, the same. Other foreign feedstocks were treated more harshly, with the same guidance providing no pathway at all for road fuels from foreign used cooking oil and also pinning the carbon intensity of canola oil — largely from Canada — as generally too high to claim any subsidy. But tariffs on major suppliers of tallow to the US, and the threat of additional charges if countries retaliate, could give refiners pause. Demand could rise for domestic animal fats or alternatively for domestic vegetable oils that can also be refined into fuel, especially if retaliatory tariffs cut off global markets for US farm products like soybean oil. There is also risk if Republicans in the Trump administration or Congress reshape rules around 45Z to penalize foreign feedstocks. At the same time, a minimum 10pc charge for tallow outside North America is a more manageable price to pay compared to other feedstocks — including a collection of charges amounting to a possible 69.5pc tax on Chinese used cooking oil. And if the US sets biofuel blend mandates as high as some oil and farm groups are pushing , strong demand could leave producers with little choice but to continue importing at least some feedstock from abroad to continue making fuel. Not all US renewable diesel producers will be equally impacted by tariffs either. Diamond Green Diesel operates Gulf Coast biorefineries in foreign-trade zones, which allow companies to avoid tariffs on foreign inputs for products that are ultimately exported. Biofuel producers in these zones could theoretically refine foreign tallow, claim a 45Z subsidy, and avoid feedstock tariffs as long as they ship the fuel abroad. Jurisdictions like the EU and UK, where sustainable aviation fuel mandates took effect this year, are attractive destinations. And there is still strong demand from the US food sector, with edible tallow prices in Chicago up 18pc so far this year. Trump allies, including his top health official, have pushed tallow as an alternative to seed oils. By Cole Martin and Jamuna Gautam Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Trump to 'stand firm' on tariffs as markets crash

03/04/25

Trump to 'stand firm' on tariffs as markets crash

Washington, 3 April (Argus) — President Donald Trump does not intend to back down from his plan for sweeping import tariffs that have already caused a sell-off in global equity markets and some commodities, administration officials say. The tariffs — which will start at 10pc for most imports on 5 April before steeper country-specific tariffs take effect on 9 April, with exceptions for some energy and mineral imports — have caused key stock indexes to drop by as much as 5pc, with even larger declines in crude futures, as investors brace for lower growth and a higher chance of a recession. Trump earlier today defended the tariffs, as he prepared to leave the White House for a dinner tonight at a golf tournament at one of his resorts in Florida. "THE OPERATION IS OVER! THE PATIENT LIVED, AND IS HEALING," Trump wrote in a social media post before major stock markets opened. Trump's cabinet has downplayed the short-term price effect of the tariffs, which they say will boost economic growth in the US and cause a resurgence in domestic manufacturing. US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick said he does not think there is "any chance" that Trump will rescind the tariffs, and said Trump will only begin to work on new trade deals once a country has "really, really changed their ways" on trade practices. "Trump is going to stand firm because he is reordering global trade," Lutnick said today in an interview with CNN. "Make no mistake about it, America has been exploited, and he is done allowing America to be exploited." Other administration officials have suggested a greater potential for lower tariffs in the near-term. US treasury secretary Scott Bessent has encouraged world leaders to "take a deep breath" and not to "panic" because the tariff rates that Trump announced were a "ceiling" that might come down, so long as there was no retaliation. "Don't immediately retaliate, let's see where this goes, because if you retaliate, that's how we get escalation," Bessent said on 2 April during interview on Fox News. The tariffs have caused bipartisan backlash on Capitol Hill, but so far legislative action has been symbolic and unlikely to become law. The US Senate, in a bipartisan vote on 2 April, approved a joint resolution that would end the justification Trump has used to put tariffs on Canada. US senators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Maria Cantwell (D-Washington) introduced a bill today to eliminate most new presidential tariffs after 60 days without approval by the US Congress. Democrats say the tariffs will force consumers to pay far more on everyday goods, with revenue offsetting Republican plans to provide more than $5 trillion in tax cuts. "Donald Trump is using tariffs in the dumbest way imaginable. In fact, Donald Trump slapped tariffs on penguins and not on Putin," US Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) said today, in reference to Trump's decision to put a 10pc tariff on an island populated only with penguins. Trump has claimed his country-specific tariffs are "reciprocal" even though they have no relation to the tariffs each country charges on US imports. Instead, Trump's tariffs were calculated based on a universal equation that is set at half of the country's trade deficit with the US, divided by the country's imports from the US, with a minimum tariff rate of 10pc. Major US trading partners are preparing for retaliatory tariffs. Canada's prime minister Mark Carney said he would respond to Trump's tariffs on automobiles, which took effect today, by "matching the US approach" and imposing a 25pc tariff on auto imports that do not comply with the US-Mexico-Canada free trade agreement. China said it was preparing unspecified countermeasures to US tariffs that would be set at 54pc. Trump's cabinet today dismissed the market reaction to the tariffs. Stock markets are going through a "short-term adjustment" but the tariffs will ultimately result in more growth and additional investments, US Small Business Administration administrator Kelly Loeffler said today in an interview on Fox News "The gravy train is over for the globalist elites," said Loeffler, who previously was a top executive at US exchange operator ICE. By Chris Knight Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

UK to sign remaining CfDs for first H2 round in May

02/04/25

UK to sign remaining CfDs for first H2 round in May

Birmingham, 2 April (Argus) — The UK hopes to sign long-awaited subsidy contracts with the remaining projects from its first hydrogen allocation round (HAR1) in May, minister of state for the department of energy security and net zero, Sarah Jones, said. The UK will also "very shortly" unveil a shortlist of projects selected for subsidies of a larger second round (HAR2), Jones said at the Hydrogen UK conference in Birmingham today. But the announcement will hardly satisfy UK developers who have been expecting the shortlist any day since late 2024 . The missing list was the top talking point among delegates at the event. The UK has signed 15-year contracts-for-difference (CfDs) with four of the 11 renewable hydrogen projects selected in HAR1 , according to the latest information from the Low Carbon Contracts Company (LCCC), the government-backed counterparty. Finalising the rest of the CfDs is long-overdue in the eyes of many developers because the UK first announced its winners in December 2023. The process was delayed by the general election last summer and concerns around the Climate Change Levy (CCL) charged on electricity supply, among other issues. The new government took a step towards assuaging concerns about the CCL last week which might allow more projects to sign contracts. But HAR1 developers have warned that signing a CfD does not guarantee they will build projects straight away, since there is hardly any penalty for signing the subsidy deal. Some still need to finalise deals for power supply, construction contracts and financing, meaning it could still take time for signatories to take their final investment decisions. The UK will also update its hydrogen strategy later this year, Jones said. "New evidence has emerged on cost, demand and expected operating patterns, and our understanding has evolved with time," including on "how we can expect the hydrogen economy to develop over time," Jones said. The statements could indicate that the Labour government might amend the 10GW clean hydrogen production target set by the previous administration for 2030, according to one industry participant. The Conservative government's 10GW goal from 2022 had included a sub-target for 6GW electrolytic production capacity. The government will also reconsider the role of hydrogen in making steel in the UK, Jones said. The idea of using hydrogen for steel appeared to have little future in the UK under the previous government as concepts from the UK's steel plants had made no tangible progress . By Aidan Lea Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Article 6 credits 'could provide CBAM cost flexibility'

02/04/25

Article 6 credits 'could provide CBAM cost flexibility'

Lisbon, 2 April (Argus) — Allowing the use of credits issued under Article 6 of the Paris climate agreement for compliance with the EU's carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) could provide flexibility for developing countries that lack the capacity to set up their own carbon pricing systems in response to the measure, delegates at a conference in Lisbon, Portugal, heard today. The CBAM regulation provides for a carbon price already paid on a product in its country of origin to be deducted from CBAM costs, providing an incentive for countries importing products covered by the measure to the EU to introduce equivalent carbon pricing systems. But developing countries often lack the capacity to enact such policies, the chief sustainability and innovation officer at ACT Group, Federico di Credico, told delegates, and allowing the use of Article 6 credits for compliance could provide an alternative. This could in one form take place implicitly, di Credico said, if CBAM liabilities are adjusted down in relation to pricing systems that themselves allow some compliance using Article 6 credits. An example of this is Singapore, where 5pc of the country's carbon tax can be offset through the purchase of Article 6 internationally traded mitigation outcomes (Itmos). A more direct inclusion of Article 6 credits for compliance could entail a calculation on a euro-for-euro basis, di Credico suggested, for example reducing a CBAM liability of €100 to €50 if the importer has purchased €50-worth of Article 6 credits. Using a tonne-for-tonne basis would not work because the CBAM is not volume based, he said. But the uncertainty surrounding Article 6 credits means that their inclusion would bring an added layer of complexity to the CBAM, Cedric de Meeus of cement producer Holcim said. Article 6 credits are not usable in the EU emissions trading system (ETS), which forms the reference price for the CBAM, he pointed out, while not all activities producing Article 6 credits would be equivalent to the deep decarbonisation being carried out by European industry. It remains unclear how the EU will take into account carbon prices in other jurisdictions for the purposes of the CBAM. The CBAM regulation includes the ability to credit a "carbon price… effectively paid in the country of origin" but does not define what falls within this term, and the implementing regulation that will provide further detail on the matter has not yet been tabled. Article 6 of the Paris deal provides for two carbon pricing mechanisms allowing countries to collaborate voluntarily to reduce their emissions. Article 6.2, which is already fully operational, produces Itmos through bilateral agreements on emissions reduction or removal projects, while Article 6.4 establishes the soon-to-be-implemented Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism (Pacm), a UN-regulated global carbon crediting system. By Victoria Hatherick Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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