Sempra Infrastructure, a subsidiary of Sempra (NYSE: SRE) (BMV: SRE), today announced an agreement with a consortium comprised of Tokyo Gas Company, Ltd., Osaka Gas Company, Ltd., Toho Gas Company., Ltd. and Mitsubishi Corporation to participate in the evaluation of a proposed project to produce e-natural gas, a form of carbon recycling, in the U.S. Gulf Coast. If the project is successful, it could be the first link of an international supply chain of liquified e-natural gas, a synthetic gas produced from renewable hydrogen and carbon dioxide.

The consortium is comprised of three of the leading gas utilities in Japan and Mitsubishi Corporation which have been conducting preliminary feasibility work on the project since 2022. With the addition of Sempra Infrastructure, the companies seek to advance the energy transition through the global market of liquified e-natural gas.

“Sempra Infrastructure is excited to bring its essential infrastructure development experience to this collaboration with Tokyo Gas, Osaka Gas, Toho Gas and Mitsubishi Corporation. The project would allow existing natural gas infrastructure, including the global liquefied natural gas supply chain and the gas distribution systems in nations across the world, to be used as the backbone for the delivery of a long-term, carbon-neutral fuel,” said Justin Bird, CEO of Sempra Infrastructure. “Sempra Infrastructure has strong strategic alignment with the goals of the consortium and is well-positioned to support this innovative opportunity by building on what we do well: developing energy infrastructure that provides access to safe, secure, affordable and lower and zero-carbon energy for our global partners.”

“Tokyo Gas, Osaka Gas, Toho Gas and Mitsubishi Corporation intend to realize the world’s first large-scale production and international supply chain of e-natural gas and have been progressing feasibility work. The U.S. Gulf Coast is an ideal location for this type of facility and we are pleased to partner with Sempra Infrastructure, a company with a reliable and qualified track-record of developing energy infrastructure in this region. We look forward to the development of this project as a truly global consortium,” said Kentaro Kimoto, Representative Executive Officer of Tokyo Gas, Keiji Takemori, Senior Executive Officer of Osaka Gas, Takeo Haigo, Managing Executive Officer of Toho Gas, and Masaru Saito, Executive Vice President of Mitsubishi Corporation.

The proposed project is anticipated to produce 130,000 tonnes of e-natural gas per year that would be liquified to become liquified e-natural gas via Mitsubishi Corporation’s tolling capacity at the Cameron LNG terminal in Southwest Louisiana and exported to Japan, where the product is commonly referred to as e-methane. The proposed project is anticipated to include the production or procurement of green hydrogen, as well as the construction of facilities to produce the e-natural gas.

The U.S. Department of Energy and Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry are currently implementing a Memorandum of Cooperation in the field of carbon capture, utilization and storage, conversion and recycling, and carbon dioxide removal. This proposed project would meet many of the objectives in the memorandum, and could complement it, should the policy frameworks recognize e-natural gas as a carbon-neutral fuel.

Successful development of the proposed project is contingent upon completing the required commercial agreements, securing and/or maintaining all necessary permits, obtaining financing, and reaching a final investment decision, among other factors and considerations.