Japan plans to consume 10 million tonnes of hydrogen each year within a decade, an equivalent of more than 30 nuclear reactors to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, an official has said.
This is a goal set by the country’s Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, the Nikkei news outlet reported on Tuesday, December 8, 2020.
In order to reduce the country’s carbon footprint, the Japanese Government plans to invest $19.2 billion (¥2 trillion) in initiatives to utilise non-carbon-emitting hydrogen along with solar and wind energy on the country’s power plants.
In addition, these efforts will allow for production of hydrogen stores from excess power generated from renewable sources.
However, the initiative to boost hydrogen consumption is hampered by its high price, which is 10 times more than that of liquefied natural gas (LNG).
In this regard, the media outlet said the Japanese authorities seek to burn from five million to 10 million tonnes of hydrogen to reduce its cost.
The news outlet also noted that 88 Japanese private firms, including Toyota Motor and gas supplier Iwatani on Monday formed the Japan Hydrogen Association to advance the use of hydrogen by funding related projects.
In 2018, a group of Japanese companies, including Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Iwatani and trading house Marubeni, initiated a pilot project to produce and liquefy hydrogen in Australia to supply it to Japan.
Its first shipment is scheduled for 2021.
Kawasaki Heavy Industries previously confirmed that it was mulling imports of hydrogen from Russia to diversify energy sources.
It also noted that one of the biggest hydrogen plants in the world is located in Japan’s Fukushima Prefecture, operating with the participation of Japanese tech giant Toshiba.
