The government of Japan has set a target of 10 million tons of hydrogen to be used in Japan by 2030, enough to operate more than 30 nuclear power plants. This would be more than 10% of the total electricity capacity in Japan.
It will also hasten the practical application of hydrogen power generation and accelerate the spread of FCVs. The government will provide support through a newly established 2 trillion Yen fund and tax incentives for capital investment.
The private sector has also started to take action. 88 companies, including Toyota and Iwatani Corporation, announced in December the launch of the “Japan Hydrogen Association (JH2A)” to promote the development of hydrogen infrastructure.
| Company Toyota Motor Corporation | Program/Goal New FCV Mirai with extended cruising range to be launched in December 2020 |
| Iwatani Corporation | Expand demand for hydrogen in shipping, railways, and power generation to reduce costs |
| MITSUI & CO., LTD. | Participate in a demonstration experiment to transport hydrogen procured in Brunei to Japan |
| KEPCO （Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc.) | Investigating the feasibility of introducing hydrogen contamination in thermal power generation |
| TOSHIBA CORPORATION | Participating in a demonstration test of one of the world’s largest hydrogen production bases in Fukushima |
| ENEOS Corporation | Currently operating 44 hydrogen stations nationwide. Plans to expand in the future. |
| Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. | The goal is to commercialize a large hydrogen carrier by 2030 |
| Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. | Promote the development of thermal power generation facilities that use hydrogen as fuel to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. |
| Kobe Steel, Ltd. | The company is involved in compressors and other equipment necessary for transporting and storing liquefied hydrogen. |
Toyota, which launched the mass-produced FCV Mirai, has played a leading role in the private sector’s use of hydrogen. Mirai has sold only 10,000 units worldwide through September. FCV sales in Japan in fiscal 2019 were about 700 units, including Toyota. This is small compared to the approximately 20,000 units of EVs.
As a way to break the ice, the company plans to launch the new Mirai in December, which has a range about 30% longer than the current range of about 650 kilometers when fully charged with hydrogen.
JH2A will promote the use of hydrogen in areas other than automobiles. In the iron and steel industry, the reduction of iron ore will be switched from coal to hydrogen. Major blast furnace companies such as Nippon Steel Corporation are aiming to commercialize technology to reduce CO2 emissions by using hydrogen by 2050.
JERA, a fifty-fifty joint venture between Tokyo Electric Power Company and Chubu Electric Power Company, will also switch its power generation fuel to hydrogen and reduce its CO2 emissions to practically zero by 2050.
On the other hand, in order to realize power generation and steel manufacturing using hydrogen, it is necessary to procure large amounts of hydrogen energy at low prices. Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Iwatani Corporation, Marubeni Corporation, and others began a demonstration project in 2018 to produce and liquefy hydrogen from low-grade coal called “lignite” in Australia and transport it by ship to Japan for use in power generation and other applications.
The plan is to conduct the first hydrogen production and transportation tests by 2021. Iwatani Corporation, Kansai Electric Power Company, and others are also considering the practical use of hydrogen-powered ships by 2025. They will be equipped with fuel cells and run on electricity generated by a reaction between hydrogen and oxygen in the air.
Source: The Nikkei
PSR Analysis: Japan is seriously considering making hydrogen the energy of the next generation. The fact that the target year has been set in concrete terms will further accelerate this effort. On the other hand, there are additional costs and many safety and environmental concerns.
On the safety side, there is a perception that hydrogen is extremely dangerous and frightening because it is prone to explode. Hydrogen advocates argue against this view, saying: “It is true that hydrogen explodes easily and is highly flammable. However, it is difficult to ignite because it diffuses quickly and even if it leaks, it will quickly dilute. It is unlikely to ignite or explode inside the cylinder, as it would only burn near the gas outlet like a burner.
Hydrogen is not completely safe, but legislation is being put in place to ensure safety. Taking hydrogen stations as an example, various laws have been established to regulate everything from the location of the stations to the materials used in the storage facilities to the method of filling the stations with hydrogen.
“Because of these safety measures, the cost of constructing and operating hydrogen stations has ballooned, and installation has not progressed as much as the government had expected. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), together with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) and the Fire and Disaster Management Agency (FEMA), is continuously reviewing regulations for hydrogen stations.
As for fuel cells for home use, deregulation is already underway. We are now in a phase where we need to educate the general public so that they can understand the safety of hydrogen correctly.‘’
Another claim of the opponents is that hydrogen is not really clean. In my opinion, this is basically correct. Currently, hydrogen in general circulation is made from crude oil and natural gas, and CO2 is emitted when hydrogen is made from the raw materials. The method of making hydrogen from hydrocarbons contained in natural gas, crude oil, and coal produces CO2 because the original material contains carbon.
Another method is the electrolysis of water. There are also methods to produce electricity from renewable energy sources such as wind power. The idea is to use these to create a carbon-free fuel that emits no CO2. However, renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar power, cannot be targeted to generate power as planned, and the power supply is unstable.
Therefore, the idea of converting renewable energy into hydrogen, storing and transporting it, and then using the hydrogen for power generation and fuel is spreading, especially in Europe. However, at the moment, this concept remains at the level of a concept.
I am not a proponent or a detractor of the use of hydrogen as an energy source. What is important is to recognize that it is not a battle for supremacy between hydrogen, oil, and batteries. This is the idea of the energy mix. Oil, gas, and hydrogen all have their own optimal ways of use. In the field of mobility, EVs are leading the way at the moment, but EVs themselves have the problem of final disposal of lithium-ion batteries.
Research on the use of hydrogen as an energy source is being conducted not only in Japan but also in Europe, the United States, and China, but Japan is one step ahead in terms of maturity and progress.
Achieving this goal in the next 10 years is a very tough; it is essential that the public and private sectors work together to achieve it. In order for FCVs to become widespread in the mobility field, priority must be given to the upstream process, i.e., the use of hydrogen in infrastructure and power plants and the spread of hydrogen stations. It will be a big challenge to see if Japan can achieve that level in the next 10 years. PSR
Akihiro Komuro is Research Analyst, Far East and Southeast Asia, for Power Systems Research
