Tomakomai CCS Demonstration Project

The Tomakomai CCS Demonstration Project, managed by Japan CCS Co., Ltd. with support from the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), was Japan’s first full-chain CCS project. Located offshore Tomakomai City, Hokkaido, the project captured CO₂ from a hydrogen production unit at an oil refinery complex, compressing and transporting it via pipeline to offshore injection sites. From 2016 to 2019, more than 300,000 tonnes of CO₂ were injected into two separate offshore formations: a saline aquifer in the Moebetsu Formation (1,000 m deep) and a depleted gas reservoir in the Takinoue Formation (2,400 m deep). The project successfully demonstrated safe offshore CO₂ storage under Japan’s unique seismic and geologic conditions. Extensive monitoring—including 3D seismic surveys, pressure monitoring, tiltmeters, seafloor and microseismic sensors, and groundwater sampling—confirmed no leakage and validated predictive reservoir models. While active injection ended in 2019, the Tomakomai project continues under a long-term monitoring phase and provides critical data for Japan’s national CCS roadmap, which aims for multiple commercial-scale projects to be deployed by the 2030s.