OOYO Corporation and Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd. have jointly applied to the “Green Innovation Fund Project / Technology Development Project for CO2 Separation and Recovery, etc.”, which the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organisation (NEDO) publicly invited applications for, for the “Development of CO2 separation and recovery system from factory exhaust gases, etc. using separation membranes” (hereinafter referred to as the “Project”), which the two companies are working on. Development of a CO2 Separation and Recovery System from Factory Emissions Using Membranes” (hereafter referred to as “the Project”), which was selected as one of the R&D items “Development and demonstration of low-cost technology for low-pressure, low-concentration CO2 separation and recovery”.

While the use of renewable energy and the development of various recycling technologies are progressing towards the realisation of a carbon-neutral society, the need for low-cost technology to separate and recover CO2 from exhaust gases in the power and industrial sectors is also expected to increase in the future. In order to expand the introduction of CO2 capture processes not only for large-scale emission sources such as thermal power plants, but also for small to medium-scale emission sources such as factory exhaust gases, it is necessary to establish space-saving and energy-saving CO2 capture technologies and systems.

This project aims to develop and demonstrate a low-cost CO2 separation and recovery system using a high-performance CO2 separation membrane from combustion flue gas emitted from factory boilers, etc. OOYOO will develop a high-performance separation membrane and membrane production process by making maximum use of its advanced expertise in membrane technology. Sumitomo Chemical will develop the membrane modules and design and demonstrate the separation process for industrialisation, making full use of its expertise and technology in the assembly and processing of membrane modules, performance evaluation and separation system design, and with the cooperation of Renaissance Energy Research Co. The project will involve the design and demonstration of a separation process and the development of membrane modules for industrialisation.

In December 2009, Sumitomo Chemical formulated a grand design for the realisation of a 50-year carbon-neutral society, which includes the Group’s ‘responsibility’ to reduce GHG emissions to near zero and its ‘contribution’ to society’s GHG reduction through its products and solutions. OOYOO is promoting initiatives in terms of both ‘responsibility’ to bring the Group’s GHG emissions close to zero and ‘contribution’ to society’s GHG reduction through products and solutions.

OOYOO is developing high-performance membranes for the separation and purification of air and various gases in order to realise a sustainable future. Through this project, OOYOO aims to supply and promote systems that separate and capture CO2 not only from large-scale plants but also from small to medium-scale plants in the future, thereby contributing to the reduction of CO2 emissions and becoming carbon neutral for a wide range of stakeholders.