Cutting Back on Crude: Shooting for the Moon With Biodegradable Plastics

By the end of this decade, Japan hopes to have at least three new clean energy solutions for plastics, which has emerged as the fastest growing area for crude oil. Plastics are everywhere, but few pe...

METI’s Plan To Diversify Low-carbon Fuels, and the Future of Biofuels

As part of the national Green Transformation (GX) program, which the ruling party chiefs approved last week, the energy transition roadmap through 2050 calls for the development of three carbon recyc...

A Small Solution for a Big Problem: Resolving Japan’s Grid Congestion

As Japan plans more solar and wind capacity, attention is focusing on grid solutions to help accommodate the intermittency of some renewables supply. The big-picture vision in the recently released d...

Japan Hopes To Develop Synthetic Methane Into Staple Energy Supply

In November 2022, “e-methane” debuted at the Japan Gas Association (JGA) with much fanfare. This nearly carbon-neutral methane is synthetic; it is produced from captured CO2 and green hydrogen or oth...

2022 Energy Talent Trends – A Year of Transition

Last year was very interesting and eventful for the energy industry. The highlights include Japan’s fundamental shift in nuclear policy, the war in Ukraine, LNG shortages and record energy prices, a ...