By 2040, Japan Plans to Supply 12 million Tonnes of Hydrogen

Japan: Japan will update its hydrogen strategy by the end of May 2023, the industry ministry stated on Tuesday. By 2040, the nation hopes to raise its yearly production of hydrogen to 12 million tonnes, despite the intensifying competition in the world fuel market. Fumio Kishida, the prime minister of Japan, emphasized the significance of updating the 2017-original hydrogen plan during a ministerial meeting on Tuesday. Kishida emphasized the necessity to hasten the creation of hydrogen supply chains once more.

The United States and Europe are investing a lot of money on hydrogen, so Japan will speed up the development of supply chains in cooperation with Australia, the Middle East, and Asia. Given its limited resources, the nation will also support the development for domestic regulations and support.

The industry ministry expects to complete fresh ideas for spending 15 trillion yen ($113 billion) over the course of 15 years in both the public and private sectors in around two months. These ideas seek to promote Japan as a pioneer in the development of environmentally friendly gasoline and serve as global benchmarks for such fuel.

According to the Ministry, Japan's annual hydrogen supply target is to rise from the 2 million tonnes that are currently used by oil refineries to about 3 million tonnes by 2030. By 2050, the nation plans to significantly increase this number to 20 million tonnes.

Several significant industries, including energy, steel, and chemicals, are looking into ways to switch to hydrogen in order to reduce carbon emissions. This is because hydrogen has the potential to be a clean substitute for fossil fuels. The energy source employed for the electrolysis process, however, affects the carbon footprint of the hydrogen produced.

In order to meet its lofty aim of becoming carbon neutral by 2050, Japan has identified hydrogen and ammonia as key players.