Japan is planning to burn fuel ammonia and hydrogen at a combined ratio of 1pc in the country's power generation mix by the April 2030-March 2031 fiscal year. Ammonia is likely to be ahead of hydrogen to meet the target, given fuel availability and technology development.
Japan plans to increase hydrogen supplies, including in the form of ammonia, to 3mn t/yr in 2030-31 to help achieve the country's target of cutting its greenhouse gas emissions by 46pc based on 2013-14 levels by the same year. Power producers plan to use their fuels to supplement coal and LNG in thermal generation.
The country already uses around 2mn t/yr of hydrogen in the domestic market, most of which is internally consumed at refineries, an official at the trade and industry ministry (Meti) said. This means the country will have to secure additional 1mn t/yr of hydrogen, which could be mostly imported, to meet the 2030-31 target over the next seven years.
The power sector is expected to take around 800,000 t/yr of hydrogen, including ammonia, out of 1mn t/yr of new supplies, said the Meti official. Given Japan plans to use around 3mn t/yr of fuel ammonia, or around 500,000 t/yr of hydrogen equivalent, in 2030-31, power producers will use more ammonia than hydrogen to achieve the 1pc ratio in their 2030-31 power mix goal.
Japan's largest power producer by capacity Jera is currently demonstrating co-firing of ammonia and coal at its Hekinan power plant in central Japan's Aichi prefecture. The company aims to establish 20pc co-firing technology for commercial use in the second half of 2020s and achieve a 50pc mixture in the first half of 2030s. Jera is looking to import around 2mn t/yr of ammonia in 2030.
Japan's power sector will need around 300,000 t/yr of hydrogen in 2030-31, while boosting the use of fuel ammonia to meet the 1pc power mix goal. The Japan-Australia joint venture HESC aims to set up a transportation route for liquefied hydrogen from Australia to Japan using hydrogen produced from brown coal in Victoria with carbon capture, utilisation and storage technology. Production could begin in the late 2020s, with output expected at 30,000-40,000 t/yr initially but rising to 225,000 t/yr eventually.
Marginal goal
The 1pc hydrogen and ammonia target is marginal compared with a 36-38pc ratio of renewable sources and 20-22pc for nuclear, along with 41pc for fossil fuels, such as LNG, coal and oil. But power producers will be encouraged to gradually increase the mixture ratio of ammonia and hydrogen in gas- and coal-fired generation to drive decarbonisation toward a net zero emissions goal by 2050.
Japan on 6 June unveiled a renewed basic hydrogen policy to help achieve mass hydrogen production at an early stage as possible to make the country's hydrogen sector competitive in the global market. The country set a new intermediate hydrogen supply target of 12mn t/yr, including ammonia, by 2040, although it is still unclear what volumes ammonia will account for.
Japan has already set a 2050 hydrogen supply target of 20mn t, including 30mn t of ammonia, or 5mn t of hydrogen equivalent.
