INPEX CORPORATION (INPEX) has commenced the supply of electricity generated from hydrogen produced as part of its blue hydrogen and ammonia production and utilization demonstration project in Kashiwazaki City, Niigata Prefecture. This electricity is being supplied to KASHIWAZAKI Ideal & Realistic Energy, Inc.

The project is Japan’s first to integrate the entire process from the production to the utilization of hydrogen and ammonia, which are non-polluting energy sources that do not emit CO2 during usage.

The natural gas used as a raw material is sourced from the Minami-Nagaoka Gas Field, which INPEX operates in another part of Niigata Prefecture. CO2 generated as a byproduct during the production of hydrogen and ammonia will be injected (CCUS) into the reservoir of the Hirai area of the Higashi-Kashiwazaki Gas Field, where gas production has already ceased, reducing atmospheric emissions.

KASHIWAZAKI Ideal & Realistic Energy, Inc. supplies the electricity produced to public facilities and private businesses within Kashiwazaki City. Through this initiative, INPEX will acquire knowledge related to hydrogen-based power generation and electricity supply, which will be leveraged to enhance the demonstration project and support optimization studies for future large-scale low-carbon solution businesses.

The production of hydrogen and ammonia and the capture of CO2 are components of the project that are subsidized by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) as part of the organization’s “Fuel Ammonia Utilization and Production Technology Development/Technology Development for Blue Ammonia Production” program.

Additionally, the implementation and evaluation of subsurface CO2 storage are being conducted as joint research with the Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC) entitled “Demonstration Test on Understanding CO2 Storage Capacity Utilizing Domestic Depleted Oil and Gas Fields for Decarbonization in Natural Gas Utilization, etc.”

In February 2025, INPEX announced INPEX Vision 2035, which is centered on realizing a responsible energy transition. As part of this vision, INPEX has set a goal to advance lower-carbon solutions based on CCS and hydrogen by 2035 as one of its growth pillars.

As a community-based energy company, KASHIWAZAKI Ideal & Realistic Energy, Inc actively promotes initiatives toward a sustainable society. Purchasing hydrogen-derived electricity and supplying it to regional public facilities and private enterprises represent an important step toward expanding renewable energy deployment and strengthening regional energy self-reliance in Kashiwazaki City.

This project represents a key initiative toward achieving this goal, and the commencement of commissioning and introduction of natural gas marks an important milestone toward its success.