Japan’s Kawasaki Heavy Industries, a major manufacturer of technical equipment, announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on a strategic partnership for onshore hydrogen gas transport with Transgaz, Romania’s state-controlled natural gas transmission system operator (TSO).
The agreement was signed on Friday, October 23, at the Romania–Japan Innovation Forum 2026 held in Tokyo, in the presence of government officials from both Japan and Romania.
Under the partnership, the two companies will work together to realize the large-scale transport of hydrogen gas via onshore pipelines that Transgaz envisions for Central and Eastern Europe.
According to the two companies, by combining Transgaz’s pipeline experience and expertise with Kawasaki’s centrifugal hydrogen compressor technology, the collaboration will strengthen Romania’s role as an energy hub in Central and Eastern Europe and establish a model for the safe and stable supply and transport of hydrogen to neighboring countries.
As the first phase of this collaboration, Kawasaki plans to begin demonstration tests in Romania for the onshore transport of pure hydrogen gas using its centrifugal hydrogen compressor (KM Comp-H2).
The demonstration will be the world’s first initiative aimed at realizing large-scale hydrogen gas transport via pipelines.
According to the accompanying press release, reducing hydrogen supply costs is essential to the widespread adoption of hydrogen energy worldwide. As one means of achieving this, expectations are growing for onshore pipelines capable of transporting large volumes of hydrogen efficiently. One of the key challenges to realizing such pipelines is the need for technology that can efficiently compress large volumes of pure hydrogen gas to high pressures within a limited space.
Through this demonstration project, Kawasaki will leverage its expertise in centrifugal hydrogen compressors developed over the years to help realize efficient onshore hydrogen gas transportation.
Kawasaki aims to establish large-scale hydrogen gas transport via pipelines and, by linking this technology with its diverse range of hydrogen products (turbines, engines, carrier vessels, tanks, etc.), to build a hydrogen supply chain.