Japan to invest $107 billion in hydrogen for net-zero emission plan
Tokyo, June 6 (EFE).- The Japanese government approved on Tuesday a plan to invest 15 trillion yen ($107 billion) in public and private funds to boost the production and supply of low-emission hydrogen over the next 15 years.
The cabinet-approved plan aims to increase Japan’s current hydrogen supply of two million tons per year to 12 million tons by 2040.
The government hopes to trigger interest among private firms to become more actively involved in the hydrogen program and start commercializing hydrogen power generation by 2030.
“We would like to steadily build a supply chain for hydrogen in Asia and the Indo-Pacific region by further expanding Japan’s (hydrogen) technology, which has been world-leading,” Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura told reporters.
Japan has included hydrogen in its energy strategy to reduce polluting emissions and has been betting on low-emission gas to promote decarbonization by 2050.
In a White Paper on energy released on Tuesday, the government designated hydrogen, which does not emit carbon dioxide when burned, as a key material for its multiple-sector decarbonization plan.
Despite its clean use characteristic, hydrogen is produced from diverse resources, including fossil fuels like coal and natural gas.
The environmental impact and energy efficiency of hydrogen depends on how it is produced. However, the key is to capture and store carbon dioxide without releasing it into the atmosphere during hydrogen production.
Hydrogen has long been used as a fuel in the aerospace industry. Its main uses are oil refining and chemical production, but the demand in general sectors like transportation and power generation remains limited.
Japan has been in favor of supporting the introduction of the use of synthetic fuels and ammonia for energy. EFE
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