At the TBZW conferences, Cabinet ministers from various countries, experts and leaders in various fields discussed wide-ranging topics, including specific issues that should be addressed to achieve the goal of beyond zero and the ways available to get there. They also discussed priority areas that Japan is making efforts in ahead of the rest of the world, including hydrogen and ammonia fuels and carbon recycling, as well as themes that transcend the boundaries of science, including green growth, finance and innovation. TBZW is aimed at contributing to achieving carbon neutrality for the world as a whole by serving as a platform for stimulating international discussions and cooperation, and sharing Japan’s technological know-how with other countries.

This article focuses on the International Conference on Fuel Ammonia,and Research and Development 20 for Clean Energy Technologies, or RD20, two of the eight conferences held as part of TBZW.

Ammonia as a zero-emission fuel

As climate change looms large as an urgent issue for humanity, ammonia is attracting fresh interest as a zero-emission fuel that does not give off carbon dioxide when burned.

This type of fuel has been given high priority in Japan’s strategy for carbon neutrality. METI has decided to spend about ¥70 billion on developing technologies that will enable the stable supply of ammonia power. The goal is to perfect such a technology by 2030 and to begin operating ammonia power plants by the 2040s.

Using ammonia as a fuel requires ensuring it can be stably supplied. An urgent task is to establish an international supply chain for fuel ammonia and bolster it on both the demand and supply sides.

This was what led METI to decide to hold the International Conference on Fuel Ammonia for the first time as part of TBZW. The conference featured speeches by speakers from Japan and seven other countries, and a launch event of the International Energy Agency’s first analytic report on ammonia power, “The Role of Low-Carbon Fuels in Clean Energy Transitions of the Power Sector.” In an effort to run a concrete project, a memorandum of cooperation on a project to introduce ammonia co-firing in Malaysia’s power plants was signed between Japanese and Malaysian companies.

A key achievement of this year’s conference was that the participants came to the understanding that it is important for countries producing fuel ammonia and those consuming it to work together to build a structure for production, supply and transfer technologies. Another important piece of the puzzle is a consensus to adopt a joint strategic initiative between public- and private-sector entities aimed at creating value chains that can produce stable, low-cost supplies of fuel ammonia.

METI aims to drive efforts to achieve a realistic energy transition and decarbonization process for the entire world by introducing measures to support wider use of ammonia.

Innovative technology

Japan has come up with the “beyond zero” concept, which seeks to reduce carbon dioxide already in the atmosphere, going beyond achieving carbon neutrality around the world. A key to achieving this is in the “historical shift in the concentration of carbon dioxide since the Earth’s creation to present day,” Yoshino said.

“Carbon dioxide concentration on the ancient Earth is believed to have been several tens of percent, but it has decreased to 400 parts per million presently,” Yoshino said. “As carbon dioxide is an acidic substance, it is immobilized by neutralization, but, unfortunately, neutralizing reactions created by substances existing on the ground have ended. One possible way to further neutralize carbon dioxide is to make alkaline substances in the soil that absorb carbon dioxide. Another is photosynthetic organisms. If a major innovation emerges in this area, we should be able to find new possibilities that are different from existing biomass technologies. Personally, I’m interested in algae with high rates of absorption.”

ICEF 2020 was held to promote a global-scale effort to develop such innovative technologies. In addition to discussions from a technological viewpoint, panelists discussed the role the financial industry can play in accelerating innovation. Fiona Reynolds, chief executive officer of the U.N.-supported Principles for Responsible Investment, said companies in not only Europe, but also Asia now commit to net zero (where carbon dioxide emissions and absorption is balanced out) as a comprehensive goal by 2050. This has been made possible by increasing investor engagement from the financial industry.

Tokyo ‘Beyond-Zero’ Week

There were a series of international conferences related to “beyond zero” organized by Japan in a period from late September to early October. The series, titled Tokyo “Beyond-Zero” Week, was aimed at showcasing Japan’s global efforts in tackling global warming.

The TCFD (Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures)summit discussed promotion of climate-related financial disclosure as a basis for private-sector investment. At this summit , the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry announced 320 Japanese companies that were recognized for their active efforts in environmental innovation. Japan aims to encourage investors in Japan and overseas to provide funding based on TCFD disclosure information.

Research and Development 20 is a forum of leaders from research organizations in the area of clean energy. It provides a framework for discussion, mainly among the Group of 20 countries, which account for about 70 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions. In the second meeting this year, participants agreed to prepare for the formation of joint international research initiatives.