ABB to supply control system for Japan’s first commercial-scale liquefied hydrogen terminal
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, approximately 30 kilometres south of Tokyo, Japan.
The terminal is being developed as the world’s first facility designed to handle and scale liquefied hydrogen supply from pilot projects to commercial level. Its demonstration phase is expected to be completed by 2030 and will form an important part of Japan’s plans to establish an international liquefied hydrogen supply chain.
Supported by Japan Suiso Energy, Ltd. as project operator and the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) through its Green Innovation Fund, the Liquefied Hydrogen Supply Chain Commercialization Demonstration project will include a 50,000 m³ liquefied hydrogen storage tank, together with facilities for cargo handling, liquefaction, hydrogen gas supply and lorry dispatch.
ABB’s System 800xA will integrate process control, safety and operational data into a common environment, helping operators manage the terminal’s complex processes with greater visibility and reliability. The system is designed to support operations across liquefaction, storage, loading, unloading and dispatch.
ABB’s scope includes System 800xA integrated with a SIL 3 safety instrumented system (SIS), providing a unified platform for process control, safety and plant-wide operational visibility. The solution will also include redundant AC 800M controllers and critical server infrastructure to support system availability, data management and continuous operation.
The integrated and redundant architecture is intended to reduce operational complexity while supporting faster decision-making and improving availability across critical terminal processes. The redundancy is also designed to help maintain stable operations in the event of equipment unavailability.
“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.”
Once operational, the Kawasaki LH2 Terminal is designed to receive, store and distribute imported liquefied hydrogen safely and at scale. Liquefied hydrogen can reduce hydrogen’s volume to approximately 1/800 of its gaseous state, making it an important option for transporting hydrogen over long distances.
The project builds on ABB’s previous involvement in Japan’s Hydrogen Energy Supply Chain (HESC) pilot, led by HySTRA, where ABB supplied control and safety systems for the Hy touch Kobe liquefied hydrogen receiving terminal.
The Kawasaki LH2 Terminal extends that experience toward commercial-scale infrastructure and is intended to support the development of liquefied hydrogen as a viable energy carrier for Japan and international markets.
