Australia and Japan have reached an agreement to export green hydrogen.
In its most recent budget, Australia set aside over $1 billion for low-carbon technology.
Australia hopes to replace coal and gas in its exports with hydrogen. Japan has enough sun and wind to satisfy 14 times its electrical requirements. Instead of coal, Australia has the possibility to make iron with hydrogen and export it.
The abundance of sun and wind in Japan may derail Australia’s aim of being the world’s greatest exporter of green hydrogen to Asian countries, particularly Tokyo, and of being able to meet the country’s electrical demands, at least in the short term.
Australia ranks second in the world in coal exports and first in coal production, but the world’s trend toward carbon neutrality by the middle of the millennium, with the goal of addressing climate change and the natural disasters that it causes, killing and destroying people all over the world, is jeopardizing this situation.
Because coal is the main source of energy among fossil fuel products, carbon emissions, and environmental pollutants, it looks to be the first casualty of a climate change remedy. What is putting the Australian economy at risk?
Hydrogen that is green
Australia’s federal government committed millions of dollars in its most recent budget to boost the country’s capacity to manufacture green hydrogen.
The Australian Federal Government has set in place the slogan “technologies, not taxes” to meet the carbon-neutral aim by 2050. Green hydrogen is produced by the electrolysis of water using power provided by the sun and wind.
According to Australia’s most recent budget plan, the government would produce vast amounts of green hydrogen for export, particularly to Japan, with whom it inked a deal for this reason in January.
It’s worth noting that Japan is Australia’s top importer of thermal coal and gas, with Canberra providing 67 percent of its thermal coal and 39 percent of its liquefied natural gas.
According to a report published in the newspaper “The Conversion,” Japan has enough sun and wind to create clean energy on its own and does not require Australian green hydrogen to do so.
Carbon dioxide emissions
In Japan, solar energy is used by the country’s largest electricity-producing firm.
The Australian Federal Government invested roughly 1 billion Australian dollars (769.2 billion US dollars) in low-carbon technology in its most recent budget, including $300 million going to the Darwin area to manufacture green hydrogen in tandem with liquefied natural gas production.
By 2030, Australia aims to be one of the top three exporters of green hydrogen to Asian markets, filling the hole created by the drop in coal and gas supplies as nations move away from them; and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and achieve carbon neutrality.
According to analytical research published in the newspaper “The Conversion” yesterday, Sunday, 3 April, it appears that the Australian government’s claims that Japan and Europe lack significant sources of sun and wind to create power are false.
“We did a research to evaluate the role of renewable energy in Japan,” according to the paper, “based on the premise that it will rely entirely on it to supply its electrical demands.”
According to the study, Japan has 14 times more sun and offshore wind than its needs for energy generation.
All industries
With an abundance of sunshine and offshore wind, Japan can meet all of its electrical demands, from transportation to heating, industrial, and aviation, 2-3 times more than the rest of the world.
Tokyo will be able to totally eliminate fossil fuel imports from other countries if enough solar and wind farms are built, enhancing energy security and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
The research also discovered that producing electricity from the sun and wind in Japan would cost half as much as generating electricity in Australia; each megawatt-hour would cost A$115-147 ($86-110), with 70% of the energy spent in shipping the hydrogen needed for generation.
According to this result, green hydrogen, and hydrogen in general, will “supposedly” not be suited for exporting vast quantities of it across countries.
The benefits of green hydrogen that may be transferred between nations for it, such as its introduction into the creation of industrial aircraft cells, ammonia, polymers, and certain other chemicals, are not ruled out by “The Conversion” research, especially if the cost is cheaper in one area.
“All of these elements may be manufactured in any amount in any nation,” the report noted, “but their high cost in a country like Japan may offer an opportunity for them to be imported from Australia.”
Energy trading is in decline
However, fossil fuels are only found in a small number of nations; most countries have plenty of sun and wind; as a result, energy commerce will shrink in the future since most countries will be able to create it on their own.
While there are many types of renewable energy sources, solar and wind farms account for three-quarters of all projects implemented annually around the world, equivalent to 250 gigawatts, due to their lower cost than fossil fuels, and this number is expected to double in the next three to four years.
Many populous nations, like Japan, Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines, and northern Europe, have massive offshore wind farm projects and solar power facilities.
In the absence of sun and wind, the “Conference” study raises the question of whether countries throughout the world may turn to Australia to supply their energy demands.
“No,” he responds, “since all nations, including Japan, have the capability of pumping water out of rivers, storing energy, and using it in the absence of sun and wind, and storage batteries assist them in this.”
Australia’s chances of exporting renewable energy are small, but it might rely on green hydrogen to manufacture iron, replace coke, and export it instead of iron ore, as seen above.
Although hydrogen will be a component of the global energy system in the future as a key part of the green economy, it will be utilized in the creation of chemicals, and solar and wind farms will continue to be less expensive.
