Installation of a Demonstration Facility for New Low-concentration CO2 Capture Technology at Kobe Works
Jul. 14, 2025
Tokyo, July 14, 2025 - Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. today announced the start of construction at its Kobe Works (Kobe, Hyogo) of a facility to demonstrate newly developed low-concentration CO2 capture technologies. The completion of construction is scheduled for October 2025.
Applying the company’s proprietary CO2 capture technology, Kawasaki CO2 Capture (KCC), the new facility will perform technical demonstrations of Direct Air Capture (DAC)*1 to capture CO2 from the atmosphere, and Post-Combustion Capture (PCC)*2, which will capture CO2 from exhaust gas of the Kawasaki high-efficiency gas engine power plant installed at the Kobe Works. These demonstrations will use newly developed solid sorbents that absorb low concentrations of CO2. Unused heat sources such as exhaust gas from gas engines are utilized to generate steam for CO2 desorption.
KCC utilizes a technology perfected over many years to remove CO2 exhaled in closed spaces such as submarines and space stations. By using the solid sorbent developed in-house, the CO2 can be separated at 60℃—much lower than by conventional methods using absorbent liquids—cutting energy consumption during the capture process.
The facility under construction at Kobe will capitalize on the results of KCC demonstrations at industrial power stations in Japan and the USA*3. This will be the company’s first application of PCC for capturing CO2 from exhaust gas from a distributed power plant facility. Among the biggest in Japan, the DAC facility to be installed at Kobe will also see the first use of a modular-construction system, able to handle the larger applications expected in future. These two units will be used to carry out technical verification to support future large scale development. By improvements to facilities and in-house sorbent development, and with even faster and more reliable development and commercialization, Kawasaki aims to accelerate the growth of the CO2 capture business.
Main details
| KCC type | DAC | PCC |
|---|---|---|
| CO2 source | Atmospheric | Exhaust gas from the gas engine |
| Captured amount | 100 to 200 ton-CO2/year/module | 360 ton-CO2/year |
| Steam temperature for desorption | 60℃ | |
We will further develop our energy saving CO2 capture technology to provide solutions for decarbonization and help realize a carbon neutral society.
| *1 | DAC: Technology that captures the low concentration of CO2 present in the atmosphere. Delivers negative CO2 emissions by storing underground or solidifying into materials. |
| *2 | PCC: Technology to capture CO2 from exhaust gases. |
| *3 | Ministry of the Environment project “Construction Completed for CO2 Separation and Capture Technology Demonstration Test Facility for Use in Environmental Impact Assessment with Combustion Exhaust Gases at Coal-fired Power Plant in Wyoming, USA” (October 11, 2023) https://global.kawasaki.com/news_231011-1e.pdf 
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