Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. announced that its Wind Hunter Project, a zero-emission initiative that utilizes wind power to produce hydrogen, has been selected by Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) to participate in a project to research the potential for achieving a hydrogen society. The official name of the project is “Development of Technologies for Realizing a Hydrogen Society / Regional Hydrogen Utilization Technology Development'” Hydrogen Production and Utilization Potential Project (Note 1).

In NEDO project it encompasses not only investigating the optimization of hydrogen production vessel but also researching optimal wind conditions of the sea area around Japan that will produce green hydrogen energy for local production and consumption, building a demonstration vessel for the Wind Hunter project, and examining the hydrogen supply chains. These efforts and technological prospects were highly evaluated by NEDO and led to its selection for the project.

In November 2020, MOL launched the Wind Hunter project, which utilizes offshore wind energy to produce hydrogen onboard vessels and supplies it to the onshore market, with the aim of realizing a decarbonized, hydrogen-based society. MOL conducted various demonstrations using the demonstration yacht Winz Maru and in 2023, participated in the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s “Tokyo Bay eSG Project – Priority Project.” In March of this year, we have successfully supplied green hydrogen production with offshore wind and supply to shore (Note 2) for the first time in the world by the same yacht.

Assuming that a hydrogen value chain will be established in Japan in the future, MOL aims to build and commercialize a demonstration vessel as early as the 2030s. In addition, a model of the Wind Hunter is now on display in the “Transportation and Mobility” zone of the “Future City” pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai Japan (Note 3).

MOL has set the target of achieving net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050 in line with the “MOL Group Environmental Vision 2.2,” and to create a sustainable world, it will pursue renewable energy projects and the establishment of a clean energy supply chain, contributing to the reduction of GHG emissions reduce GHG emissions not only the company’s own operations but also from society.
Source: Mitsui O.S.K. Lines