Swedish supplier putting trust in small-scale geothermal development in Japan
Umi Jigoku, one of the Hells of Beppu, Kyushu Island, Japan (source: Mkill, CC BY 2.5)
Alexander Richter
15 May 2018
Swedish Climeon has announced the opening of an office in Japan describing the country as a key market for its small-scale low temperature power generation units being able to tap into geothermal resources.
In a release today, Swedish heat power technology company Climeon announced that it is opening a representation office in Nagano, Japan to explore and evaluate the company’s ability to sell primarily geothermal heat power modules in the country. The company sees Japan as one of its priority markets.
Climeon employees will be based in the country to work with partners to explore and deepen the understanding of the Japanese market.
“Japan has all the prerequisites for becoming a big market for Climeon. By opening a representation office, we get the right conditions to get to know the market while showing local stakeholders that we have a long-term perspective,” says CEO Thomas Öström.
After the accident at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, Japan’s energy production has been significantly reduced, which means that more than 90 percent of all energy is imported. The country has the potential to become more self-sufficient by increasing the utilization of geothermal energy. Japan is located in one of the world’s most active volcanic areas and has many hot springs around the country, but today only utilizes just over 2 percent of its known geothermal energy resources. In recent years, the Japanese government has introduced economic incentives and simplified the requirements for permits and surveys to accelerate the shift to local green electricity. The price of electricity generated from geothermal power in Japan today is just over SEK 3 per kWh, which is eight times higher than the electricity price in Sweden.
Source: company release
