Japan’s ‘hydrogen economy’ runs the risk of being powered by coal

It’s no secret that Japan is betting on hydrogen as a clear and inexperienced vitality supply.

Japan was the primary nation on the earth to launch a nationwide hydrogen technique, with then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe unveiling the coverage in 2017.

Since then, greater than 30 nations and areas — together with South Korea, Australia, the UK and the European Union — have adopted go well with, demonstrating an acceleration of presidency curiosity within the function of hydrogen as a part of a nation’s long-term vitality targets.

“Hydrogen is vital for sustainable growth,” says Eiji Ohira, director basic of the gas cell and hydrogen know-how workplace on the New Vitality and Industrial Know-how Improvement Group (NEDO). “It may be produced from quite a lot of sources, doesn’t emit greenhouse gasses when used and can assist to energy varied totally different sectors.”

Japan in the end goals to develop into the world’s first “hydrogen financial system,” with the chemical aspect more and more portrayed as a significant cog within the nation’s efforts to achieve its long-term objective of zero carbon emissions by 2050.

However that focus on stays a good distance off. Fossil fuels account for greater than 80% of Japan’s present vitality provide, of which 32% comes from coal energy vegetation. This locations Japan because the sixth largest shopper of coal on the earth, an vitality supply that alone produces one-fifth of worldwide greenhouse gasoline emissions every year.

Moreover, the Japanese authorities’s goal to scale back the share of coal to 19% of the nation’s vitality combine by 2030 is extensively thought-about inadequate to satisfy its decarbonization targets and, in the end, the Paris Settlement objective of limiting international warming to beneath 2 levels Celsius.

“Coal remains to be the biggest supply of Japan’s CO2 emissions,” says Evan Gach, program coordinator at Kiko Community, a nonprofit environmental group working to stop international warming. “Most individuals see coal as a factor of the previous and are stunned to know that, not solely is it nonetheless getting used, however that there are plans to start working new coal-fired energy items throughout the nation.”

‘Clear coal’ debate

Critics of the federal government’s vitality coverage have questioned the competing nature of Japan’s home local weather commitments with its funding in new coal-fired energy vegetation at residence and overseas.

Vitality officers usually level to latest technological advances that enable coal for use to make hydrogen whereas capturing and storing the dangerous emissions generated within the course of, in addition to the potential to make use of hydrogen or ammonia in energy vegetation that may burn several types of gas on the identical time.

However Yasuko Suzuki, program coordinator at Kiko Community, says that such arguments don’t paint the total image of what’s occurring right here.

“Numerous authorities subsidies are being funneled within the course of ‘clear coal,’ together with monetary help for the manufacturing of hydrogen and the event of associated gear,” Suzuki says. “Nonetheless, fossil fuels will proceed to be burned even when new know-how is getting used within the course of and carbon will proceed to be launched into the air. There is no such thing as a such factor as clear coal.”

Local weather campaigners argue that Japan’s hydrogen financial system should transfer away from being depending on fossil fuels or else it is going to find yourself giving coal a brand new lease on life.

The Matsushima Thermal Energy Plant within the metropolis of Saikai, Nagasaki Prefecture, is a working example. Constructed greater than 40 years in the past, it is among the oldest coal-fired energy vegetation within the nation. It was slated for mothballing by 2030, though official dates have by no means been introduced.

Nonetheless, the operator of the ability has rolled out plans to retrofit the plant in order that it may run on a mix of coal and hydrogen till the know-how to burn carbon-free hydrogen is applied.

“Retrofitting the oldest vegetation in Japan will merely prolong the lifetime of coal vegetation with out meaningfully decreasing emissions,” Gach says. “By doing so, Japan’s hydrogen technique is actually simply conserving coal energy alive and, if pursued at the price of shifting to renewable vitality, Japan will probably be locked into the long-term use of fossil fuels and CO2 emissions.”

Yuko Nishida, senior supervisor on the Renewable Vitality Institute, an impartial suppose tank that has been working to advertise local weather neutrality and renewable vitality in Japan, claims the present concentrate on hydrogen is a critical challenge.

Though Nishida sees advantages in utilizing hydrogen in restricted roles in particular sectors, she says that an overreliance on the aspect — whose vitality effectivity is low and prices are excessive — quantities to betting on a dropping horse, significantly if the manufacturing, transportation and storage of hydrogen are factored in.

“Hydrogen will play an essential half in our vitality combine sooner or later, however provided that we have now a correct plan for the place it comes from and the way we put it to use,” Nishida says. “We should differentiate between several types of hydrogen.”

The hydrogen palette

Hydrogen is essentially the most plentiful aspect within the universe. On Earth, it’s present in water, vegetation, animals and even people. In an effort to be used as a gas, nonetheless, it must be separated from different molecules — a course of that requires vitality.

Which means, though hydrogen emits no dangerous gasses when burned, its environmental credentials additionally rely upon the tactic used to provide it within the first place.

At present, international hydrogen manufacturing depends nearly completely on pure gasoline or coal, producing extra carbon dioxide emissions than the entire of the UK and France mixed. This sort of hydrogen is often known as grey hydrogen.

In distinction, hydrogen obtained from water utilizing renewable vitality known as inexperienced hydrogen, which at present makes up lower than 0.1% of worldwide hydrogen manufacturing as a result of excessive price of renewable vitality and electrolysis know-how — the method of splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen — which remains to be within the early levels of growth.

To beat issues plaguing each grey and inexperienced hydrogen — the previous’s emissions and the latter’s comparatively excessive prices — Japan’s hydrogen technique focuses on blue hydrogen, which is produced utilizing fossil fuels however depends on experimental applied sciences to seize and retailer the carbon emissions which can be generated throughout manufacturing.

Blue hydrogen is taken into account significantly engaging as a result of it permits vitality corporations to proceed to make use of low-cost fossil fuels and present coal-fired energy vegetation that may in any other case face closure as a part of efforts to decrease emissions.

Enterprise as traditional

“The federal government is simply far too optimistic about applied sciences that seize and retailer carbon emissions,” says Toshikazu Ishihara, senior researcher on the Renewable Vitality Institute. “Not solely are these applied sciences largely unproven however, significantly in Japan, we merely don’t have sufficient appropriate locations to retailer the big quantities of carbon that may must be captured.”

Carbon seize and storage works by trapping the carbon emissions generated in the course of the burning of fossil fuels and storing them in a protected place the place they won’t leak again into the ambiance. The emissions are normally saved deep underground in geological formations akin to previous gasoline or oil reserves.

Nonetheless, Japan has only a few sensible areas for this type of storage and any areas that would doubtlessly be used are both located removed from industrial facilities — making transportation costly and inefficient — or in danger as a result of nation’s excessive publicity to seismic exercise, which might doubtlessly result in saved carbon leaking again into the ambiance.

“Blue hydrogen with carbon seize and storage will not be sustainable. It merely sweeps the issue beneath the carpet, leaving it for the subsequent generations to cope with,” Nishida says. “In Japan — the place we don’t have appropriate areas to retailer massive quantities of CO2 — the present concentrate on blue hydrogen is extra about enterprise continuity and conserving the present vitality system in place than carbon neutrality.”

A big a part of Japan’s hydrogen technique at present revolves round growing a hydrogen provide chain — engaged on initiatives in nations which can be resource-rich and have extra appropriate areas for hydrogen era — after which importing hydrogen for use as a gas.

“Japan desires to pioneer this technological push,” Nishida says. “China received the race to develop photo voltaic know-how and electrolyzers for inexperienced hydrogen, so the Japanese authorities is now new hydrogen applied sciences as the subsequent massive alternative.”

Nonetheless, latest initiatives to implement carbon seize and storage have up to now did not ship on their guarantees, with low charges of carbon seize and excessive working prices.

In a single such endeavor involving Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd., Iwatani Corp. and Australian firm AGL Vitality Ltd., blue hydrogen is produced from coal within the state of Victoria earlier than being liquified and transported to Japan. Nonetheless, dangerous gasses generated within the manufacturing course of are launched into the ambiance, and future carbon seize methods stay obscure and unproven.

What’s extra, consultants argue that Japan’s concentrate on blue hydrogen runs the danger of leaving the nation reliant on gas imports from overseas, exacerbating underlying vitality safety points — a subject that’s extra related than ever within the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the ramifications this has had on vitality safety in Europe and past.

“Traditionally, Japan has been extremely depending on fossil gas imports,” Nishida says. “It is a safety challenge for the nation and plans to import hydrogen will solely proceed this pattern.”

But issues associated to vitality safety should not particularly tied to blue hydrogen.

“Whether or not it’s blue or inexperienced hydrogen, Japan will doubtless proceed to rely upon overseas vitality imports,” says Jane Nakano, a senior fellow on the Middle for Strategic and Worldwide Research who not too long ago revealed a paper on Japan’s industrial hydrogen technique. “On the present value ranges, hydrogen use doesn’t current an financial benefit over different types of vitality in Japan.”

Nishida believes the nation may benefit from higher funding in renewables throughout the board.

“What Japan actually wants is to prioritize growing renewables, and inexperienced hydrogen will be part of that course of,” Nishida says.

The inexperienced motion

Within the city of Namie, Fukushima Prefecture, NEDO is working to develop power-to-gas know-how on the Fukushima Hydrogen Vitality Analysis Area in an effort to enhance electrolysis know-how and discover methods of building low-cost, clear hydrogen manufacturing.

The ability is residence to the biggest hydrogen manufacturing unit on the earth, offering helpful perception on the long run function of inexperienced hydrogen.

“Hydrogen is extraordinarily helpful when it comes to vitality storage as a result of it shops electrical energy in the identical means {that a} battery does,” Ohira says. “That is significantly essential within the context of accelerating renewables as a result of it may assist cut back imbalances between provide and demand that naturally happen with wind and photo voltaic.”

Moreover, hydrogen might develop into extraordinarily helpful in a fancy vitality system that makes house for localized vitality manufacturing.

“Think about a hydrogen refueling station that produces its personal hydrogen onsite utilizing small-scale electrolysis with native renewable vitality,” Ohira says. “This may get rid of the prices of transporting gas to locations which can be removed from massive manufacturing websites.”

Nonetheless, inexperienced hydrogen at present suffers from the identical points plaguing renewable vitality in Japan: excessive prices and inadequate provide.

“The principle barrier to inexperienced hydrogen is the value of electrical energy, particularly when it comes to renewable electrical energy,” says Ohira, who provides that water electrolysis know-how remains to be in its infancy and that there’s a want to enhance effectivity and sturdiness with a purpose to cut back prices additional.

This has led some to argue that Japan ought to use blue hydrogen as a stepping stone to realize long term plans to scale up hydrogen manufacturing.

“If we produce hydrogen with fossil fuels, then we are able to obtain economies of scale and decrease manufacturing prices,” says Ohira, who believes that Japan’s future vitality system would require a mix of vitality sources, together with each blue and inexperienced hydrogen. “With inexperienced hydrogen, this can be a lot tougher. We will develop manufacturing however the price of water electrolysis items is actually linear as a result of nature of the system.”

Nonetheless, not everybody agrees with this technique.

“It’s paramount that hydrogen is produced in an environmentally sustainable and local weather benign method to maximise emissions discount advantages throughout a variety of sectors,” Nakano says.

Moreover, Nishida says that it’s essential to behave in ways in which be sure that Japan’s long-term vitality targets are achieved.

“Grey and blue hydrogen preserve the fossil gas era system afloat and the applied sciences used don’t relate to inexperienced hydrogen manufacturing,” Nishida says. “We can’t afford to waste time. The actual precedence needs to be to spend money on renewables and, as soon as these are developed, then we are able to discuss scaling up hydrogen.”