A consortium of Japanese industrial giants has officially started construction on a commercial-scale liquid hydrogen receiving terminal, which will be the largest in the world when it begins operation in 2030.

The Kawasaki LH2 Terminal is being built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) on the site of a former steelworks in Kawasaki City on Japan’s central-Pacific coast, on behalf of Japan Suiso Energy (JSE), a KHI-led consortium of Japanese businesses hoping to establish an international trade in liquid hydrogen.

The move comes despite a lack of projects aiming to ship LH2 across the sea, with most international projects planning to transport ammonia instead.
Even so, the terminal (pictured below) will house the world’s largest hydrogen storage tank, capable of holding 50,000 cubic metres (3,438 tonnes) of liquid H2, as well as loading and unloading equipment, liquefaction facilities and H2 distribution capability, via pipeline and lorry.

A 40,000-cubic-metre liquid hydrogen carrier ship — scaled back significantly from an earlier plan to build a 160,000-cubic-metre model — is also expected to be in operation in 2030, when JSE plans to bring the terminal online.