Japan’s largest oil company, Eneos, plans to ramp up green hydrogen production in Australia by leveraging its proprietary technology and investing the A$200 million (US$129 million) in a demonstration plant on Bulwer Island, Brisbane, Queensland.

The plant is projected, starting in 2026, to generate up to 680 kilograms of green hydrogen daily, and the investment will also create over 100 specialist jobs in the region, bolstering the state’s burgeoning green hydrogen industry.

The green hydrogen, a portion of which will be shipped to Japan, will be in the form of methylcyclohexane (MCH), a hydrogen carrier in liquid form that can be transported at room temperature and normal pressure, making it easy to store and transport.

The MCH production plant will be constructed on approximately 6,000 square metres of land at a former BP refinery site close to the Port of Brisbane. Construction will begin on the plant next year and MCH production is expected by the middle of the following year.

While Eneos is Japan’s largest oil refiner, the company also engages in various energy-related businesses, including renewable energy, hydrogen production and battery technology, and is actively transitioning towards greener energy solutions.

Eneos is working on this project in partnership with Japanese companies, including Chiyoda Corporation, Sumitomo Electric Industries, TOPPAN and AGC, and Brisbane companies, GPA and GRPS.

The Queensland project is a demonstration project commissioned by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization and supported by the Green Innovation (GI) Fund established by the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

The GI Fund is an approximately US$28 billion fund aimed at helping Japan achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.

The investment by Eneos, says Ros Bates, Queensland’s finance minister, highlights the Australian state’s position as an energy superpower and a trusted partner.