In the next ten years, the Japanese trade ministry (Meti) proposes investing up to $3.4 billion to help hydrogen technology growth.
The money will come from a $2 trillion government fund set up to support green innovation initiatives in the country’s attempts to decarbonize by 2050.
The fund is divided into 18 projects focusing on carbon-neutral electricity, energy transformation, and industrial system reform.
At a panel discussing the use of the green innovation fund in the energy transition sector, Meti suggested allocating $300 billion for the construction of large-scale hydrogen import and supply chains, with the goal of lowering long-term supply costs.
The fund is intended to support the advancement of hydrogen transportation technology, as well as hydrogen liquefaction and hydrogenation technologies, as well as a demonstration project.
Japan’s potential demand for hydrogen is expected to reach 20 million tonnes per year in 2050, up from 3 million tonnes per year in 2030.
Of the $300 million set aside for hydrogen technology advancement, $26 million will be used to fund a verification and demonstration project for a hydrogen-fired or co-fired gas turbine power generation technology.
Meti also suggested allocating $70 billion to the creation of a large-scale hydrogen production electrolyser, as Japan seeks to catch up to the EU. The FH2R consortium is running Japan’s largest 10MW electrolyser to produce hydrogen, which is powered by a 20MW solar plant in Fukushima.
The state-controlled research and development institute Nedo is in charge of the $2 trillion green innovation fund.
