In accordance with Japan’s strong promotion of hydrogen use for decarbonisation, Erex plans to commence commercial operations of its 360KW hydrogen-fired power generating facility in the central prefecture of Yamanashi in March 2022.
Erex will get an undisclosed amount of hydrogen from Tokyo-based Hydrogen Ability (HT), which has the technology to produce 2.6 million m3/yr of hydrogen from water and rock catalysts. In April, Erex and HT agreed to collaborate on the Fujiyoshida pilot plant. They put $300 million ($2.7 million) towards this endeavor.
From the beginning of November, Erex plans to commence commercial development of Japan’s first hydrogen-dedicated facility.
Erex aims to build two bigger hydrogen power plants in Japan by 2022, with the pilot plant serving as a test bed for any difficulties with fuel supply reliability, hydrogen power generation, and sales. The business wants to reduce hydrogen generating costs from 58 cents per kilowatt-hour to about 17 cents per kilowatt-hour with bigger units.
Companies in Japan have stepped up their attempts to create hydrogen enterprises. Iwatani, an LPG importer and energy supplier, agreed to collaborate with Japanese and Australian firms on a feasibility study to develop a hydrogen supply chain.
