The University of Tokyo, IHI Plant Services Corporation, INPEX CORPORATION, ENEOS Xplora Kanadevia Corporation, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Kobe Steel, JFE Engineering Corporation, JFE Steel Corporation, JERA TOKYO GAS NETWORK  Namura Shipbuilding NIPPON STEEL ENGINEERINGNIPPON STEEL PIPELINE & ENGINEERING, NIPPON STEEL CORPORATION, and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, —have jointly established the Social Collaboration Program*1, “Materials for Future Energy Infrastructure Trust ”, to scientifically elucidate and standardise the material reliability of energy infrastructure supporting a carbon-neutral society. The joint research will commence on 1st May 2025. Kobe Steel,JFE Steel Corporation, NIPPON STEEL CORPORATION, and ClassNK play a role as the lead organization.
This program aims to evaluate the material reliability essential for ensuring the long-term integrity of infrastructure and cargo/fuel tanks for decarbonised energy carriers such as liquefied hydrogen and ammonia as well as structures for liquefied and high-pressure CO2 in Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) projects. Through these efforts, the initiative seeks to accelerate the development of energy infrastructure for a carbon-neutral society, address domestic demand and enhance international competitiveness.

*1 A collaborative research framework between UTokyo and 16 organisations, funded by joint research expenses borne by the participating organisations under a contract. It enables interdisciplinary collaboration among researchers and the formation of research teams to address comprehensive societal challenges; thus, allowing them to overcome the limitations often found in conventional and ad-hoc collaborations between individual researchers and companies.

Overview of the Social Collaboration Program

As society transitions to carbon neutrality, energy infrastructure is shifting significantly from fossil fuels to new systems utilising hydrogen and ammonia. This includes liquefied hydrogen tanks, ammonia tanks, CO2 tanks and high-pressure CO2 pipelines, all of which require material reliability evaluations to ensure long-term safety and economic viability. The program will establish material selection criteria, post-weld heat treatment omission standards and fracture prevention criteria to optimise infrastructure construction costs and promote international standardisation that contributes to a sustainable energy society.