We attempt to keep up with what's cookin' in Japan but there is just so much. Some links below.
From the Wall Street Journal, June 15:
The country’s effort to be carbon-free by 2050 relies on a fuel source many see as too expensive and unrealistic
Japan built the world’s third-largest economy on an industrial base powered by imported oil, gas and coal.
Now, it is planning to shift a big chunk of that power to hydrogen, in one of the world’s biggest bets on an energy source long dismissed as too costly and inefficient to be realistic.
The change is a vital piece of the country’s plan to eliminate carbon emissions in 30 years. If it succeeds, it could also lay the groundwork for a global supply chain that would finally let hydrogen come into its own as an energy source and further sideline oil and coal—similar to the way the country pioneered liquefied natural gas in the 1970s, some experts say.
Hydrogen has been hyped before, and there are still big economic and technical challenges to overcome. Japan’s approach is likely to be a gradual process of moving away from fossil fuels over many years, so it won’t cut carbon emissions quickly at first. Nor will it resolve its dependence on foreign energy. The country is planning to use hydrogen produced largely from imported fossil fuels initially.
But like many countries, Japan is realizing it can’t achieve its goal of zero emissions by 2050 with renewable sources like solar and wind alone. Hydrogen emits water vapor when used, rather than greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide. It can be used to replace fossil fuels in industries where renewables don’t work as well.
The Japanese government more than doubled its hydrogen-related research-and-development budget to nearly $300 million in the two years to 2019, a figure that doesn’t include the millions invested by private companies.
In December, Japan published a preliminary road map that called for hydrogen and related fuels to supply 10% of the power for electricity generation—from virtually zero now—as well as a significant portion of the energy for other uses like shipping or steel manufacture by 2050. The government is honing a final energy plan now, which could contain official targets for hydrogen development and an estimate of how much it will cost.
Eventually, the government is expected to provide subsidies, as well as disincentives for carbon-emitting technologies. Japan’s industrial powerhouses are building ships, gas terminals and other infrastructure to make hydrogen a big part of everyday life.
Japan’s biggest power company, JERA Co., is planning to reduce carbon emissions by mixing the hydrogen compound ammonia into its coal-fired plants, and in May signed a memorandum of understanding with one of the world’s biggest ammonia manufacturers to develop supply.
The country’s conglomerates are seeking out places to source ammonia and hydrogen. Shipping companies like Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha are designing boats that run on those fuels.
The world’s first liquefied hydrogen carrier—a 380-foot vessel bearing the letters “LH2” in blue and black—sits at the port of Kobe in southwest Japan, preparing for its trial run to Australia, around 5,600 miles away.
“The real game-changer here is that if there is a breakthrough in Japan and the entire value chain is figured out to service the Japanese market, I think there will be rapid adoption” of hydrogen globally, says David Crane, the former chief executive of U.S. power producer NRG Energy Inc., who sits on the board of JERA.
Hydrogen has key advantages. One is that it can be used in modified versions of existing power plants and other machinery designed to run on coal, gas or oil. That will help countries avoid scrapping billions of dollars of legacy assets as they transition to a new-energy future.
It can also be stored and used in fuel cells, which pack more power into the same amount of space than electric batteries. That makes hydrogen better suited for airplanes or ships that have to carry energy supplies long distances.
Another advantage is that hydrogen is a technology in which Japan can take the lead and reduce reliance on China, which is emerging as a major alternative energy power and the world’s biggest supplier of solar panels and electric batteries.
With 80% of solar panels now coming from China, “we have some concern” about future energy security, says Masakazu Toyoda, chairman of the Institute of Energy Economics, Japan, who also sits on a committee advising the government on energy strategy.....
....MUCH MORE
If interested see also:
Japan's Strategic Hydrogen Roadmap
Shipping Giant Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Begins Study Into Hybrid Battery / Hydrogen / LNG Car Carrier
The First International Hydrogen Supply Chain Is a Big Deal
"Kawasaki Heavy Industries Aims to Replicate LNG Supply Chain with Hydrogen"
"Solar-to-Hydrogen Tech Sees "Remarkable" Efficiency Jump"
The Holy Grail is cost-competitive "green hydrogen" with "blue hydrogen", produced with natural gas via steam reformation and carbon capture being the second choice and "gray hydrogen" fossil fuel reformation without capturing the CO2 not making a lot of sense at this point.
There is still a long way to go on this quest for the green. The European majors are focusing on the "blue" as a stepping stone and as a reason to build out the hydrogen infrastructure while awaiting some fancy materials science to manifest in somebody's lab.
"Saudi Arabia Sends Blue Ammonia to Japan in World-First Shipment"
Just A Reminder, Toyota's President Says Electric Vehicles Are 'Overhyped' (TM; TSLA)
We last mentioned Toyota in July when CMA CGN joined the CEO-and-above pressure group The Hydrogen Council:
These are not the little guys.
The new co-chair is Takeshi Uchiyamada, Chairman of Toyota ($275 billion revenue).
He joins Benoît Potier Chair and CEO of Air Liquide ($26 billion revs.) who has been co-chair since 2017.Uchiyamada and his lieutenant Mr. Toyoda run one of the few organizations that can command greater automotive resources than Elon Musk.
Which may set up an interesting confrontation as Mr. Musk is on record as saying hydrogen fuel cells are "mind-bogglingly stupid."
He's also called them “incredibly dumb” and “fool cells.”
