Cosmo Energy Holdings and Shizuoka University Research on Producing Green Hydrogen from Seawater
2025/03/28 14:03
Overview of COCR Technology
(Source: Joint Announcement of Cosmo Energy Holdings and Shizuoka University)
On March 26, Cosmo Energy Holdings and Shizuoka University announced that they signed an agreement on January 6 to jointly research the economical production of hydrogen through the electrolysis of seawater.
Green hydrogen, which does not emit CO2 during production, is a necessary ingredient in the conversion of CO2 into other substances, such as through methanation, in the carbon capture and utilization (CCU) process. However, the cost of electricity in Japan is very high, and the price of producing green hydrogen through water electrolysis is increasing rapidly, posing a great challenge to the realization of CCU.
Shizuoka University has developed and patented ocean carbon dioxide capture and reuse (COCR) technology, which fixes CO2 using minerals dissolved in seawater and produces hydrogen through electrolysis. Since valuable materials can be produced from CO2 at the same time as green hydrogen production, fixed costs can be reduced, making green hydrogen production more economical than before.
Cosmo Energy Group has set a goal of achieving net zero carbon emissions, including Scope 3 (indirect emissions from the supply chain) by 2050, and is working to develop carbon capture and separation (CCS) and CCU technologies to achieve this goal. In addition, the company will be able to purchase renewable electricity needed to produce green hydrogen from its subsidiary Cosmo Eco Power (Shinagawa Ward, Tokyo), and will own facilities for pumping seawater, as a large amount of seawater used in the oil refining process is used there.
This joint project aims to produce green hydrogen more economically by combining Cosmo Energy Group's renewable energy power generation and seawater pumping facility with Shizuoka University's COCR technology. We will promote technology development aimed at reducing CO2 emissions by using CCU technology. With the aim of reducing the cost of carbon-neutral products derived from CO2 generated at Cosmo Energy Group's refineries and other facilities, the company will consider the CO2 reduction efficiency and investment return.
