ABB has been selected by Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd to supply its ABB Ability™ System 800xA® distributed control system (DCS) for the Kawasaki LH2 Terminal in Ogishima, around 30 kilometres south of Tokyo. The project is aimed at supporting Japan’s development of an international liquefied hydrogen supply chain and represents an important step towards handling hydrogen at commercial scale.
The terminal is being developed as part of Japan’s Liquefied Hydrogen Supply Chain Commercialization Demonstration project. Operated by Japan Suiso Energy, Ltd. and supported by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) through its Green Innovation Fund, the facility is expected to complete its demonstration phase by 2030.
The Kawasaki LH2 Terminal will include a 50,000-cubic-metre liquefied hydrogen storage tank along with facilities for cargo handling, hydrogen liquefaction, hydrogen gas supply and lorry dispatch. Once operational, it is designed to receive, store and distribute imported liquefied hydrogen safely and efficiently.
ABB’s System 800xA will integrate process control, safety systems and operational information into a common platform. The solution includes a Safety Integrity Level (SIL) 3 safety instrumented system, redundant AC 800M controllers and critical server infrastructure designed to support system availability and reliable operations.
By combining control, safety and plant-wide operational data, the system will give operators improved visibility of terminal activities. It is expected to support faster decision-making and simplify the management of processes including liquefaction, storage, loading, unloading and hydrogen dispatch. The redundant system architecture is designed to maintain stable operations even when individual equipment becomes unavailable. This approach is particularly important for a facility handling liquefied hydrogen, where safe and reliable operation is essential.
“Japan’s hydrogen ambitions depend on infrastructure that can operate safely, reliably and efficiently at commercial scale,” said Tetsuo Miura, Vice President of ABB’s Energy Industries division in Japan. “By bringing automation control, safety and operational insight together, we are proud to support the operations at Kawasaki LH2 Terminal as Japan takes an important step toward building a future-ready hydrogen supply chain.”
Liquefied hydrogen offers an efficient option for transporting hydrogen over long distances because its volume is reduced to approximately one-eight-hundredth of its gaseous state. Reliable receiving and storage infrastructure will therefore be important as Japan develops international hydrogen supply networks.
ABB’s involvement also builds on its earlier work with the Hydrogen Energy Supply Chain pilot project led by HySTRA. ABB supplied control and safety systems for the Hy touch Kobe liquefied hydrogen receiving terminal. The Kawasaki project extends this experience towards commercial-scale hydrogen infrastructure. ABB is a global technology company focused on electrification and automation, supporting industries in improving efficiency, productivity and sustainability. The company has around 110,000 employees worldwide and operates in more than 100 countries.
