MGC Commences Operation of Methanol Production Demonstration Facility Utilizing Industrial Gases and CO₂

Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Company, Inc. (MGC; Head Office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President: Yoshinori Isahaya) today announced that it has completed the construction of a methanol production demonstration facility (hereinafter referred to as “the Demonstration Facility”) within its Mizushima Plant, and commenced methanol production in September 2026. The Demonstration Facility is capable of utilizing diverse gases, including CO2 and various industrial by-product gases, as raw materials.

The Demonstration Facility is responsible for methanol production within the supply chain demonstration project aimed at achieving a carbon-recycling society. This project was launched in collaboration with JFE Steel Corporation and Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation, as announced in a joint press release dated October 22, 2026.*

MGC today hosted an opening ceremony and facility tour, welcoming representatives from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), Okayama Prefecture, Kurashiki City, JFE Steel Corporation, and Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation. This event marked a major milestone toward achieving a carbon-neutral society through collaboration among regional industries, national government, and local municipalities.

Demonstration Facility
　Exhibition Area for the Demonstration Facility

The Demonstration Facility has been selected for and is receiving support under the subsidy programs of METI’s Agency for Natural Resources and Energy across fiscal years 2024, 2025, and 2026. Additionally, the facility has been certified under Kurashiki City’s capital investment promotion incentive program, with support scheduled to continue over the next two fiscal years.

Through methanol production at the Demonstration Facility which began this September, MGC has achieved, as originally planned, a production capacity of 100 tons of methanol annually by directly reacting hydrogen with by-product gas generated from the steelmaking process. MGC has confirmed that the quality of the methanol produced is equivalent to that of conventional, commercially available products. Moving forward, MGC will continue technical demonstrations and accumulate operating data to apply this technology to commercial-scale facilities.

Furthermore, the Demonstration Facility has been designed and built as a mobile plant that can be relocated. Moving it to various locations across Japan in the future will enable not only technology demonstrations utilizing diverse raw materials, but also supply chain demonstrations including downstream applications of the produced methanol. Methanol is a basic, versatile substance traditionally used in a wide range of applications and can be produced from diverse raw materials. It is therefore expected to play a crucial new role domestically, not only in complementing the conventional naphtha-dependent basic chemicals supply chain, but also in serving as a next-generation fuel.

To ensure safe and smooth operations at future relocation sites, MGC has equipped the Demonstration Facility with a newly developed automatic startup and shutdown function. In addition, MGC has established a Remote Technical Support Room at its Niigata Plant to conduct facility monitoring and operational assistance, thereby reducing on-site operational workloads. MGC plans to leverage the experience gained from this remote technical support system to eventually expand these services to customers who adopt MGC’s methanol production processes.

Under its mission of "Creating value to share with society," and to realize a sustainable, resource-recycling society, MGC is promoting "Carbopath™," an environmentally sustainable platform that recycles carbon through methanol—a key raw material for diverse materials that is also gaining attention as a next-generation fuel. MGC will continue to collaborate with industrial partners, national government, and local municipalities to promote further technological development and social implementation.

* https://www.mgc.co.jp/eng/corporate/news/2026/261022-1e.html

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