ENEOS completes Japan’s first integrated synthetic fuel production plant

ENEOS Corporation has marked a significant milestone in Japan’s energy innovation with the completion of its first integrated synthetic fuel production demonstration plant. Located at the company’s Central Technical Research Laboratory in Yokohama, Japan, the plant aims to produce CO2-free synthetic fuel using green electricity to generate hydrogen, an essential raw material for the process.

The new facility, built with the support of the Green Innovation Fund from the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), is the first of its kind in Japan. It can produce 1 barrel of synthetic fuel per day, equivalent to approximately 159 litres, and is expected to play a critical role in the transition to carbon-neutral energy solutions.

During the inauguration ceremony, attendees toured the plant and had the opportunity to witness vehicles being refuelled and driven using the synthetic fuel, which performs on par with traditional gasoline. 

Atsushi Yamaguchi, president of ENEOS, emphasised the significance of this project, stating that the company will “gain valuable knowledge for scaling up production through continued testing” and aims to establish large-scale synthetic fuel production technology in the near future. The synthetic fuel will also be showcased in large vehicle demonstration tests at the upcoming Osaka-Kansai Expo in April 2025.

The plant aligns with ENEOS’s broader vision of ensuring a stable supply of energy while advancing efforts toward a carbon-neutral society. The company continues to push forward with a variety of energy transition initiatives, of which synthetic fuels are a key component.