Exploring synthetic methane for a greener Japan

Japan has ambitious plans to decarbonise its energy sector that includes the importation of 100,000t of synthetic methane annually from 2030. To evaluate the feasibility of such a scheme, a consortium of Japanese energy and trading companies turned to Mott MacDonald. We conducted a four month, fast-track study into three possible production countries in the Middle East. By drawing together a multidisciplinary project team spread across five different countries and four time zones, we leveraged real-world expertise in renewables and green hydrogen production, gas, water, electricity transmission, and energy policy and economics. For a study of this kind we needed to engineer new ways of accounting for the technical and regulatory challenges posed by this emerging energy solution. We also called on our unique portfolio of pioneering world-first green hydrogen production and storage projects, since green hydrogen is fundamental to this methanation process. The result was a first-of-its-kind levelised cost model that can be applied to methanation production in any country to support steps towards achieving carbon neutrality or net zero.