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A consortium of eight companies has reached an agreement to jointly
establish a dimethyl ether (DME) production and sales commercialization
research company. The partners in the consortium are NKK Corporation,
Toyota Tsusho Corporation, Hitachi, Ltd., TotalFinaElf, Marubeni Corporation,
Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd., INPEX Corporation and Nippon Sanso Corporation.
The new company, DME International Corporation, to be established
on October 19, will study DME production using direct synthesis techniques.
The demand for energy is rising, driven by surges in population and
economic growth around the world and especially in Asia. This has
given rise to expectations of increasingly serious energy shortages
and environmental issues in the 21st century, and the development
of stable energy supplies and the reduction of environmental load
are therefore among the most pressing issues before us.
DME is a clean energy source that can be manufactured from a wide
variety of hydrocarbon materials. DME has very little environmental
load because it generates absolutely no sulfur oxides or particulate
matter during combustion.
DME is also non-toxic and extremely easy to handle, giving it wide
applications in areas currently served by commercial home fuels (as
an alternative to LPG), transportation fuels (as an alternative to
diesel automobile fuel and as a fuel for fuel cells), and also applications
as a generator fuel (in thermal power plants and as a fuel for fuel
cells) and as a source of hydrogen energy. The latent market for DME
in Asia alone as a replacement for LPG and as a generator fuel is
estimated at approximately 100 million tons a year by 2010 (NKK survey
in fiscal 2000). There are thus high hopes for its commercialization
as a new generation of alternative energy.
NKK, backed by the Agency of Natural Resources and Energy under the
Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) of Japan, has led an
ongoing, collaborative effort to establish direct synthesis technology
for the low-cost mass-production of DME. There are two other groups
around the world developing direct synthesis techniques for DME, but
the NKK-led team's technique has achieved worldwide acclaim for its
efficiency and for the high levels of progress that it has achieved.
This direct synthesis technique makes it possible to effectively
utilize the untapped reserves of low-grade coal and the smaller gas
fields that are scattered throughout the Asian region. As a new form
of energy with very little constraint on the resource side, DME offers
a global-scale promise of energy security and low environmental load.
The research company was organized in conjunction with the move to
the conceptual design phase for a demonstration plant aimed at commercializing
DME direct synthesis technology. It will focus on marketing activities
and will begin to develop markets for DME so that commercial DME operations
can get under way as quickly as possible after technology development
is completed. The company has a target of fiscal 2006 for the start
up of DME supplies. The final size of the operation will be determined
from future feasibility studies, but is estimated at between 800,000
and 1.5 million tons per year.
The research company includes many leading Japanese firms, NKK, Toyota
Tsusho, Hitachi, Marubeni, Idemitsu Kosan, INPEX, Nippon Sanso, from
a wide range of industries, together with TotalFinaElf, one of the
leading companies in the oil industry. It will be a significant force
and bringing DME to a worldwide market.
Profile of new DME commercialization research company:
| 1. Name: |
DME International Corporation |
| 2. Address: |
1-1-2 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
(within the NKK head office) |
| 3. Establishment: |
October 19, 2001 (tentative) |
| 4. Capital: |
100 million yen |
| 5. Investment shares: |
NKK Corporation
Toyota Tsusho Corporation
Hitachi, Ltd.
TotalFinaElf
Marubeni Corporation
Idemitsu
Kosan Co., Ltd.
INPEX Corporation
Nippon Sanso Corporation
|
34%
17%
17%
7%
7%
7%
7%
4% |
| 6. President: |
Mikito Wakamatsu, Vice President and Director,
Environmental Solutions Center, NKK Corp. |
| 7. Directors: |
Teruhiro Isayama, Manager, Planning and Marketing, Environmental
Solutions Center, NKK Corp.
Kimio Yamamoto, General Manager, Energy Department,
Toyota Tsusho Corp.
Masaki Suzuki, Department Manager, Business Development
Department, Planning & Management Division, Thermal &
Hydroelectric Systems Division, Power & Industrial Systems
Group, Hitachi, Ltd.
Hubert de Mestier, Chief Representative for North-East Asia,
TotalFinaElf
Ryoji Yamauchi, General Manager, Business Development Sec.
Assist. General Manager, Energy Planning & Coordination Deptment,
Marubeni Corp.
Setsuo Hidaka, Asst. to the General Manager, Corporate
Planning Department, Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd.
Atsushi Sakamoto, General Manager, Development
Department, INPEX Corp.
Toshiyuki Wako, General Manager, On-Site & Plant Sales Division,
Nippon Sanso Corp.
|
| 8. Businesses: |
1) Marketing
2) Business plan formulation
3) Financial plan research |
Profile of Investors:
1. NKK Corporation
| Established: |
1912 |
| Capital: |
233,731 million yen (as of March 31, 2001) |
| Employees: |
10,702 (as of March 31, 2001) |
| Sales (parent only): |
1,010,190 million yen (April 1, 2000 - March 31,
2001) |
| Businesses: |
Steelmaking, engineering, other businesses
(urban development,
recycling) |
| History: |
NKK was established in 1912 to manufacture
steel pipe, an
endeavor that required the most advanced technology of its time.
Today, it is the flagship company in a conglomerate with core
competencies in steelmaking and engineering operations. |
2. Toyota Tsusho Corporation
| Established: |
1948 |
| Capital: |
26,748 million yen (as of March 31,
2001) |
| Employees: |
2,244 (as of March 31, 2001) |
| Sales (parent only): |
1,915,839 million yen (April 1, 2000
- March 31, 2001) |
| Businesses: |
Sales/purchases, import/export,
wholesales, brokerage, representation, investment, and incidental
lines of the following business fields; Metals, Machinery &
Electronics, Vehicle, Industrial materials, Life products &
service.
|
| History: |
Toyota Tsusho was founded
as "Toyota Kinyu Kaisha Ltd." with a mission to provide financing
for sales of Toyota vehicles. It moved into the trading and trade
services areas in 1945, and has since built itself a strong position
as a general trading house for the Toyota group, providing import/export,
wholesales, and so on. |
3. Hitachi, Ltd.
| Established: |
1920 (Founded in 1910) |
| Capital: |
281,754 million yen (as of March 31,
2001) |
| Employees: |
55,609 (as of March 31, 2001) |
| Sales (parent only): |
4,015,824 million yen (April 1, 2000
- March 31, 2001) |
| Businesses: |
Hitachi is involved in
a wide range of business activities in seven principal segments
: Information & Telecommunication systems, Electronic Devices,
Power & Industrial systems, Digital Media and Consumer Products,
High Functional Materials and Components, Logistics, Services
& others, and Financial Services. |
| History: |
Hitachi was founded in
1910 as electrical repair shop. In 1920, it was incorporated as
Hitachi, Ltd. It has since emerged as one of World largest manufacturers
of electrical equipment and is known for its power generation
plants, railroad vehicles, industrial plants, computers, semiconductors
and consumer electronics.
|
4. TotalFinaElf
| Established: |
1924 (Compagnie Francaise des Petroles)
|
| Capital: |
7.4 billion euros (approximately 814
billion yen) (as of December 31, 2000) |
| Employees: |
123,000 (as of December 31, 2000) |
| Sales (parent only): |
115 billion euros (approximately 13
trillion yen) (January 1 - December 31, 2000) |
| Businesses: |
Exploration, development,
production, and sale of petroleum, gas and other hydrocarbon resources;
manufacture and sale of general chemical products, including petrochemicals.
|
| History: |
TotalFinaElf is the world's
fourth largest energy company, having been created out of the
merger of Total and Elf (France) and Fina (Belgium). It produces
LNG in five countries, and supplies Japan with 5 million tons
a year (approximately 10% of demand) from the Middle East
and Indonesia.
|
5. Marubeni Corporation
| Established: |
1858 |
| Capital: |
194,000 million yen (as of March 31,
2001) |
| Employees: |
4,855 (as of March 31, 2001) |
| Sales (parent only): |
8,154,208 million yen (April 1, 2000
- March 31, 2001) |
| Businesses: |
Export/import/offshore
trading services, domestic wholesaling and agency services, other
businesses (resource development, IT products, finance, logistics
etc.) |
| History: |
Founded in 1858, the Marubeni
Corporation is one of Japan's leading trading houses. It provides
a wide range of domestic, import, export and offshore trading
services, as well as offering resource development, IT, finance,
and logistical services through offices worldwide. |
6. Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd.
| Established: |
1940 |
| Capital: |
38,800 million yen (as of March 31,
2001) |
| Employees: |
3652 (as of March 31, 2001) |
| Sales (parent only): |
2,203,700 million yen (April 1, 2000
- March 31, 2001) |
| Businesses: |
Idemitsu Kosan operates
petroleum refineries, manufactures oil and fat products, prospects
for petroleum and other mineral resources, develops, extracts
and produces petroleum and mineral products, and provides import,
export, sales, storage, and other ancillary services for petroleum
and other products. |
| History: |
Idemitsu Kosan began by
selling petroleum products, but has since expanded to petroleum
resource development, crude oil procurement, manufacture and sale
of petroleum products, petrochemicals, development of alternative
non-petroleum energy souces, and enviromental products and services.
It is a highly regarded firm in the environment and energy
fields. |
7. INPEX Corporation
| Established: |
1966 |
| Capital: |
29,460 million yen (as of March 31,
2001) |
| Employees: |
227 (as of March 31, 2001) |
| Sales (parent only): |
155,571 million yen (April 1, 2000 -
March 31, 2001) |
| Businesses: |
Exploration, development,
production, refining, processing, storage, sales and transportation
etc. of petroleum and natural gas in countries and regions around
the world. Also, ancillary electric power, heat and water supply
services. |
| History: |
Established in 1966 to
conduct prospecting and development projects in the Republic of
Indonesia. Has since expanded from core operations in Indonesia
and Australia to businesses in 15 countries of the Middle East,
Africa, Central Asia/Caucasus, and South America. INPEX currently
produces or has rights to the production of approximately 330,000
barrels (crude-oil conversion) of crude oil and natural gas per
day. |
8. Nippon Sanso Corporation
| Established: |
1910 |
| Capital: |
27,039 million yen (as of March 31,
2001) |
| Employees: |
1,584 (as of March 31, 2001) |
| Sales (parent only): |
185,178 million yen (April 1, 2000 -
March 31, 2001) |
| Businesses: |
Manufacture and sale of
industrial gas, air separation plant and semiconductor fabrication
equipment, welding and cutting equipment, electronic industrial
equipment and materials, ancillary devices, and frozen foods.
|
| History: |
Established in 1910 as
a limited partnership, began oxygen production in 1911 in Osaki,
Tokyo. In 1954 became the first in Japan to manufacture liquefied
oxygen. Since launching a large on-site plant ("Sanso Center")
in 1964, the company has focused on supplying industrial gases
to large commercial customers in steel, chemical and semiconductor
industries.
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