Domestic firms to raise H2, NH3 demand in central Japan

Japanese firms and the country's central prefectures have set goals to generate demand for 2mn t/yr of hydrogen and 6mn t/yr of ammonia in central Japan by 2050, promoting higher fuel uptake.

The partners — that are part of a recently formed hydrogen and ammonia promotion council — will also attempt to generate 230,000 t/yr of hydrogen demand and 1.5mn t/yr of ammonia demand by 2030 in the central Aichi, Gifu and Mie prefectures, the country's major manufacturing areas. They aim to achieve large-scale commercial use of hydrogen in industrial and transportation sectors by building cross-industrial supply chains, while encouraging ammonia use at power producer Jera's Hekinan coal-fired power plant and other industrial plants.

The firms have yet to specify the colours of hydrogen and ammoniato be used, but said they will try to choose the appropriate types as they move towards the 2050 decarbonisation goal. They plan to produce hydrogen within Japan by using waste plastics, natural gas and so on during 2025-29, and then start importing the gas after 2030. They also aim to purchase ammonia overseas, bringing the product to Kinuura port in Aichi and Yokkaichi port in Mie.

Companies across different industries, public organisations as well as industrial and economic associations based in Aichi, Gifu and Mie formed a new council in February 2022 to promote the commercial use of hydrogen and ammonia in central Japan.

Jera and 20 members from a separate council previously formed in March 2020 to promote hydrogen use are members of the new hydrogen and ammonia promotion council. These 20 members include refiners Idemitsu, Cosmo and Eneos, gas utility Toho Gas, power utility Chubu Electric Power, steel mill JFE and Nippon Steel, automaker Toyota, petrochemical company Mitsubishi Chemical, industrial gas suppliers Iwatani and Air Liquide, trading houses Sumitomo and Toyota Tsusho, engineering firms Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Chiyoda, beverage supplier Suntory, private bank Sumitomo Mitsui Banking, state-owned Development Bank of Japan, Chubu Centrair International Airport, and thinktank Japan Research Institute.

Japan is attempting to secure a total of 3mn t/yr of hydrogen and ammonia by 2030 and reduce procurement costs of hydrogen to ¥30/Nm³ and ammonia to ¥10s/Nm³ of hydrogen equivalent. The country eventually aims to supply 20mn t/yr of hydrogen at ¥20/Nm³ and 30mn t/yr of ammonia by 2050, without disclosing a target price for ammonia.

By Nanami Oki