Solar Powered Hydrogen Production to begin at Japan’s Fukushima Plant

The Fukushima Hydrogen Energy Research Field (FH2R), with the help of construction and management facilities provided by Toshiba Energy Systems & Solutions Corporation, is now capable of producing 1200 cubic Newton meter (Nm3) of Hydrogen Fuel per hour, which is equivalent to 10 MW of clean energy. This feat was achievable with the help of a 20 MW solar powered farm. However, the complete testing of the project is still undergoing, in which the production, storage, and demand of Hydrogen will be balanced without using any sort of batteries. In another press release, Toshiba said that the Hydrogen produced will be transported in Hydrogen tube trailers and hydrogen bundles and will be directly used to power fuel-cell cars and buses in Fukushima Prefecture, the Tokyo Metropolitan Area, and other regions of the country. Japan’s Fukushima Prefecture, an area seriously hit after the nuclear disasters, 2011, has begun the project worth USD 2.7 billion towards utilizing the renewable energy sources, including plans to convert its unusable agricultural land into wind and solar farms. The Japanese government has proposed their plans of building 11 solar farms and 10 wind farms with a total capacity of 600MW, by March 2024.The Fukushima government expects that the new renewable energy plans will suffice around 13-14 percent of Japan’s national energy requirement by 2030. The plan also includes the construction of an 80 km long grid connection, that will ensure the transfer of the electricity generates from the renewable hub to the Tokyo Metropolitan Area. Moreover, this “Green Hydrogen” project is not only attractive for other nations, but also a major breakthrough in the way of achieving a pollution-free environment.