Asahi Kasei, Mitsui Chemicals, and Mitsubishi Chemical have accepted in principle to set up a new joint operating corporation that will integrate ethylene manufacturing in western Japan, signifying a big restructuring of the region’s petrochemical base.
Pursuant to the framework agreement, the ethylene cracker managed by Asahi Kasei Mitsubishi Chemical Ethylene Corp. (AMEC) in Mizushima, Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture, will be introduced by financial year 2030. Ethylene manufacturing will be condensed at Osaka Petrochemical Industries, Ltd’s (OPC) facility in Takaishi, Osaka, which will function as the new manufacturing hub.
The action is part of a comprehensive strategy to cut carbon emissions and boost manufacturing capacity as Japan’s petrochemical industry deal with rising pressure to decarbonize.
The three corporations have together looked into the structural reforms for their western Japan ethylene operations and were shortlisted for Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) “Fiscal 2025 Support Program for Energy and Manufacturing Process Conversion in Hard-to-Abate Industries.” The program assist strategies such as changing petroleum-based feedstocks with biomass alternatives.
Within the transition process, Asahi Kasei intends to construct an first demonstration plant at its Mizushima site leveraging its Revolefin technology, which converts bioethanol into ethylene, propylene, and other basic chemicals. The technology is presently under development. After analyzing plant efficiency and operational possibility, the three corporation target to start joint commercial manufacturing in financial year 2034.
Decommissioning work at the AMEC Mizushima plant will continue following the end of operations, with the cracker and associated equipment removed instantly. At the same time, conversion work will be implemented at the Senboku OPC plant in Osaka, which will absorb integrated manufacturing. Once dismantling is accomplish, the corporation will together examine ways to reuse the vacated Mizushima site in a manner that assist carbon neutrality.
Ethylene is a foundation of the petrochemical industry, creating the basis for a extensive range of important materials used throughout production sectors. As individual manufacturers approach the limits of emissions reductions at standalone facilities, the corporation claimed that closer collaboration and shared technologies are becoming essential to achieving carbon neutrality.
By the latest joint operating framework, Asahi Kasei, Mitsui Chemicals, and Mitsubishi Chemical target to reinforce governance, ensure fair and rational cost and profit sharing, and accelerate the shift toward competitive, decarbonized basic chemicals.
