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Japan-based Osaka Gas is expanding efforts to produce and secure synthetic methane, or e-methane, as part of plans to decarbonise city gas supplies and diversify fuel sourcing.
The company is preparing to offtake e-methane from the US while also advancing domestic production through one of the world’s largest e-methane demonstration plants, operated with Inpex in Nagaoka City.
Osaka Gas aims to replace 1% of the feedstock used for its city gas with e-methane by fiscal 2030.
The Nagaoka test facility began operations earlier this year and has an annual production capacity equivalent to the gas consumption of around 10,000 households. The partners said they have successfully produced synthetic methane with a concentration of 96%.
E-methane is produced by combining hydrogen generated from renewable energy with captured carbon dioxide (CO2). Because the CO2 used in production is captured beforehand, combustion does not add new CO2 emissions to the atmosphere.
At the 2025 World Exposition in Japan, Osaka Gas also conducted a pilot project to produce e-methane from waste generated at the event venue and use it in kitchens across multiple facilities.
The demonstration plant has received certification under the Japan Gas Association’s Clean Gas Certificate System.
The project also fits with the country’s attempt to diversify fuel sourcing. Japan is the world’s largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) importer and relies on it for over 30% of its power generation.
The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz threatens around 6% of Japan’s annual LNG imports from Qatar and the UAE. However, with massive stockpiles, Japan is well-positioned for the short term, holding about 44 weeks of cover in a total outage scenario.
Japan’s 7th Basic Energy Plan introduces a ‘Plan B’ reliant on LNG if carbon neutrality goals are not met, despite the government’s aim to halve LNG-fired power by 2030.
