Sumitomo Rubber starts on-site hydrogen production at key Japanese tire plant

Kobe, Japan – Sumitomo Rubber Industries has begun 24-hour hydrogen production using a newly installed Yamanashi Model P2G (power-to-gas) system at its Shirakawa plant in Fukushima Prefecture.

The move marks a significant step in the group’s efforts to decarbonise its operations and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, said SRI 15 April.

The Shirakawa facility, which manufactures tires for passenger cars, trucks, and buses, is Sumitomo Rubber’s main production base and consumes around 10,350 tonnes of new rubber each month.

By producing green hydrogen on-site, the Japanese tire & rubber group expects to cut CO2 emissions by 1 kilotonne per annum (ktpa) in scope 1, 2 and 3 – including transportation.

Supported by Japan’s new energy and industrial technology development organisation (NEDO), the P2G system uses renewable energy such as solar power to electrolyse water and generate green hydrogen.

The installation follows a memorandum of understanding signed with Yamanashi Prefecture in May last year to collaborate on decarbonisation through hydrogen technology.

“We aim to be a company that actively reduces CO2 emissions,” the company stated, noting that hydrogen is a key pillar in its long-term “Challenge 2050” sustainability roadmap.

Sumitomo began exploring hydrogen as a fuel source in 2021, with a demonstration project at the Shirakawa Plant that used hydrogen-generated steam in the tire vulcanisation process.

The pilot, supported by Fukushima Prefecture and NEDO, ran until March 2024. 

In the demonstration experiment, the hydrogen was used  to produce high-temperature, high-pressure steam for the vulcanisation process, which is the final stage of tire manufacturing. 

In 2023, the plant started mass-producing tires claimed to be the first in Japan to achieve carbon neutrality during manufacture (Scope 1 and 2). (ERJ report)

With the new P2G unit, the company will now produce up to 100 tonnes of green hydrogen annually at Shirakawa.

This hydrogen will supplement existing energy sources at the plant – including delivered hydrogen, grid electricity, on-site solar power and conventional fuels – to ensure stable operations while reducing emissions.

Sumitomo has positioned the Shirakawa site as a model “decarbonisation grandmaster plant” and is considering replicating the approach at other domestic and overseas locations.

It also signed an agreement in March with the Chubu Hydrogen and ammonia social implementation promotion council to explore further applications in Japan’s Chubu region.