Located in Nebraska, the Live Oak project will use around 250MW of electrolysis and captured biogenic CO2 to produce up to 75,000 tonnes of synthetic gas for export to Japan.

Under a Joint Development and Operating agreement, Osaka Gas, Toho Gas, and Itochu will take a combined 33.3% stake in the project, with TES and TotalEnergies each retaining 33.35%.

The project is expected to reach a final investment decision (FID) in 2027, with commercial operations targeted for 2030.

The upcoming FEED work will define engineering, cost estimates, and project scope ahead of full sanctioning.

Live Oak will use biogenic CO2 captured from Nebraska’s bioethanol plants, which is understood to be one of the largest such clusters in the US.

Meanwhile, Japan’s gas utilities are turning to e-methane as a drop-in replacement for fossil natural gas that can be imported, liquefied, transported, and regasified using existing LNG infrastructure.

It also builds upon Japan’s national policy goal to decarbonise its gas system, which involves injecting 1% carbon-neutral gas into the national grid by 2030.

Other Japanese companies are securing overseas low-carbon molecules, too.

Mitsubishi Gas Chemical (MGC) recently signed a long-term offtake arrangement for ultra-low-carbon methanol from Mexico’s Pacifico Mexinol project.