Japan Looks To Hydrogen To Boost Domestic Power Mix

Japan is looking to add hydrogen generated power to its domestic power mix by the end of the decade.

In reports from Tokyo this week, it is understood that Asia’s leading light in the advancement of renewable and carbon free energy research is now seeing the public and private sectors come together in R&D and supply chain logistics to this end.

At present, the cost of using hydrogen remains unfeasible with some claiming it costs ten times more to burn hydrogen than other fuels. but the Japanese government in Tokyo is aiming to generate an output equivalent to 30 nuclear power plants in the next ten years domestic sources have indicated.

Of note, the nation’s most prominent refiner Eneos Holdings Inc., along with globally renowned trading firm Mitsui & Co Ltd., have also added their names to the initiative.

Mitsui Tower in Tokyo
C: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Angaurits

Whilst Japan remains a regional stand-out in efforts to push more conventional forms of renewable energy, in particular solar and wind – both on and offshore – hydrogen has yet to be seriously investigated.

On Tuesday it was also revealed the Japan was looking into adding ammonia to the domestic mix in much the same timeframe as the new hydrogen plans.

Mark Buckton

Mark is a journalism vet of 20 years with most of those years spent in Tokyo, Japan, as a columnist for The Japan Times and numerous other publications. His work has appeared on CNN, in the BBC, NPR, and in several dozen other media forms and publications across five continents.