Facilities are being constructed to increase the production capacity of liquid carbon dioxide undertaken in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture by 80%, amounting to 70,000 tons a year. Purifying and liquefaction facilities with a capacity of 32,000 tons a year as well as a storage tank are now under construction on the grounds of their Ukishima Plant in Kawasaki. The investment totals about 1 billion. The plant is expected to go into operation in the spring of 2014. The entire gas produced will go to Koatsu Gas Kogyo.

Nippon Shokubai has been producing liquid carbon dioxide (production capacity of 38,000 tons a year) at its Chidori Plant in the Kawasaki Area, using the off gas from ethylene oxide as the source material. The company had been looking at the tight supply and demand situation in the market during the past several years. According to a spokesperson at the Public Relations Department, “Even at the Ukishima Plant, which had not engaged in carbon dioxide recovery, we thought we need to added purification and liquefaction facilities, and began production of liquid carbon dioxide.” He commented, “This is a business which will contribute to the preservation of the environment by recovering and reusing the carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere.”