Japan’s ENEOS Corp. on Jan. 11 announced that it has made an equity investment in MVCE Gulf Coast LLC, which seeks to produce low carbon hydrogen, ammonia, and methylcyclohexane (MCH) in the US Gulf of Mexico. ENEOS wants to participate in a US-to-Japan hydrogen chain. Further details were not immediately available.
ENEOS said it is investigating the joint production of hydrogen with business partners in Asia, the Middle East, and Australia, as well as the production and transportation of MCH, a type of organic hydride that can be produced by reacting toluene with hydrogen. MCH is a medium for the transport and storage of hydrogen.
Through its equity participation, ENEOS said it will verify the commercial feasibility of manufacturing cost-competitive and clean hydrogen in the Gulf of Mexico and exporting MCH to Japan. ENEOS began operating a MCH demonstration plant in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia in early 2023.
ENEOS said MVCE (Mountain View Clean Energy), Mountain View, Calif., which was established by Calgary-based Azimuth Capital Management, has extensive experience and knowledge in business areas including hydrogen and ammonia manufacture. Azimuth had not responded to inquiries at press time.
Azimuth is also an investor in Monolith, a clean technology developer based in Lincoln, Neb., which is planning an ammonia and carbon black facility in Nebraska (GM July 15, 2022).