Hydrogen fuel supply in Japan gets major investment from top power company

The energy giant intends to make an investment of over $6 billion into H2 by 2035

The largest power generation company in Japan, JERA, has announced its intention to make a massive investment into the ammonia (NH3) and hydrogen fuel supply. The company has stated that its plan is to invest between ¥1 trillion and ¥2 trillion ($6.4 billion to $12.8 billion) into the production of H2 and NH3.

The company will be producing both blue and green H2 and NH3

According to the company, both the ammonia and hydrogen fuel supply are critical to Japan’s decarbonization. Moreover, it stated that both H2 and NH3 will be necessary to decarbonizing the grid in the country due to the land limitations and because renewables produce intermittently.

It isn’t that JERA does not support the use of renewable energy such as solar and wind power. Instead, the company has pointed out that Japan’s requirements and its resources do not make renewable power an ideal option on its own for powering the country.

A solid hydrogen fuel supply can support reliable energy availability

Since Japan doesn’t have the land available to commit to vast amounts of solar or wind energy, and because those types of power generation depend on the wind and sunlight and are therefore naturally intermittent, JERA argued that H2 and NH3 will be vital to ensuring the country’s power needs are met as cleanly as possible.

The company’s focus will be on blue and green H2. Blue hydrogen is produced using natural gas that does lead to carbon emissions, but in which those emissions are captured and stored in order to substantially reduce its greenhouse gas emissions.  Green H2 is produced using water electrolysis that is powered by renewable energy such as solar and wind.

Leading the way by 2035

JERA has announced that its goal by boosting the ammonia and hydrogen supply chain in this way is to produce about 7 million metric tons of H2 by 2035. In this way, it will allow the company to “pioneer the global hydrogen and ammonia value chain.”

Though the company does plan to go beyond H2 to NH3 for Japanese power generation, its intention is also to produce greater profit by exporting either or both energy sources to companies in Germany and Singapore.  Both of those nations are keen on building a hydrogen economy but must depend on imports in order to meet their own power needs.  Furthermore, JERA will be co-firing 40 percent H2 at its US gas-fired power plants in Linden, New Jersey.