On July 19, Tokyo Gas opened to the public its methanation facilities which had been engaged in the verification works at the Yokohama Techno Station since March of this year.

The company posts a target to introduce approximately 80 million m3 per year of synthetic methane derived from methanation in 2030.

Regarding the social implementation of synthetic methane, it is planned to implement with the small-scaled plant (an approximate output of synthetic methane of 50,000 m3/year) now under verification at Yokohama Techno Station) and also the medium-sized plant (an approximate output of 1.6 million m3/year with a methanation device scale of 400m3/h) in the latter part of 2020s.

Along with the efforts to obtain a scale-up technology or know-how, the company is going to promote the development of technologies for the reduction of costs in future by such means as the “Hybrid Sabatier Reaction” combining water electrolysis with a low-temperature Sabatier reaction as well as the “PEMCO2 Reduction Technology” which lowers the facility cost with methanation by electro-chemical reduction of CO2 using a solid polymer membrane. The company aims to realize the aforementioned introduction in 2030 through a large-scale verification abroad.
　
In Yokohama Techno Station where verification is being made as a small-scale plant, synthetic methane is produced by the methanation equipment (an output capacity of 12.5Nm3/h) made by Hitachi Zosen.

It seems at present that either hydrogen or CO2 of raw material for synthetic methane is procured from abroad. As for hydrogen, however, the company is planning to install within this year it is planned a solid polymer-type water electrolysis device made by ITM Power of UK (2MW with maximum H2 generation of approx. 330NM3/h). As for CO2, the company plans to procure it from Yokohama Techno Station and also by means of separation and recycling of the waste gas discharged from Tsurumi Plant of the Yokohama Municipal resource recovery bureau, and concluded an agreement with Yokohama City in January this year for collaboration aiming at the verification test of methanization.