Japan earmarks ¥15 tril for developing hydrogen energy to cut emissions

That's a big reversal. What changed?

That's a big reversal. What changed?

Hydrogen R&D now can be used for more budget spending excuse, through subsidy and funding.

It also pledges 15 trillion yen in funding from both private and public sources to build up hydrogen-related supply chains over the next 15 years.

Just a thought, but wouldn't it be easier to just install pantographs on cars, and install catenary cables over the roads, like they do with electric trains? No filling up the car needed as its externally powered, just like electric trains.

Some experts say strategies like commercializing the use of hydrogen and ammonia mainly cater to big business interests and major industries that are heavily invested in fossil fuel-based technologies and have power over the government policies.

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This is exactly right.

The opportunity for the end user to take charge of their own energy needs is the last thing that this government wants.

Several years ago solar power was an interesting opportunity for the ordinary person to take advantage of.

At present, the advantages of investing in new solar power projects is zero.

Every year that I stay in Japan I feel more and more disappointed and unsatisfied with the ineptitude of this government.

I think this is a great initiative hopefully switching over gradually to green hydrogen generation.

Why do they repeat paragraph five again at the end? Does saying the same thing twice help emphasize some hidden agenda?

They keep repeating it because it is an obvious fact that most are unaware of…

obladi

That's a big reversal. What changed

hydrogen requires the same oil/gas energy playas so nothing has changed. Japan keeps refusing to use its renewable resources

To my knowledge there are only two methods to produce hydrogen in industry: burning fossil fuels or electrolyzing water. You see how contradictory they are to be green or to save energy. Since Japanese politicians are composed mainly of non science majors, they don't even know basic physics

That's a big reversal. What changed?

The global maritime industry is moving very rapidly towards powering ships with modified versions of their current big diesel engines that will burn hydrogen, ammonia or mixtures of these fuels. Full scale prototypes are running on these fuels now with an eye towards having hulls in the water producing revenue for their owners no later than the end of this decade. For the maritime industry there are no serious battery electric alternatives for trans oceanic shipping, Shanghai to Rotterdam for example, or Shanghai to LA.

To my knowledge there are only two methods to produce hydrogen in industry: burning fossil fuels or electrolyzing water. You see how contradictory they are to be green or to save energy. Since Japanese politicians are composed mainly of non science majors, they don't even know basic physics

Nope. There are prototype plants in Europe producing hydrogen and ammonia using solar, wind and hydro power. Hydrogen and ammonia so produced are true zero carbon fuels. The plants are scaled to produce profitably when the sun shines and the wind blows, knowing there will be times when the plants cannot produce due to a lack of power. Scandinavian nations are leading the charge on these technologies. They are doing so to support the conversion of maritime propulsion to ammonia and hydrogen. Other applications that currently use diesel engines will certainly follow and convert to green ammonia or hydrogen.

Just a thought, but wouldn't it be easier to just install pantographs on cars, and install catenary cables over the roads, like they do with electric trains? 

What a tangled nightmare it would be overhead. No way to pass, intersections making turns would be difficult to implement. And from experience those pantographs pop off the overhead wires with some frequency. I used to ride electric trolley busses and streetcars in LA when they still had them (I was a kid) and remember the drivers having to get out and walk back to the rear of the streetcar or trolley bus to put a pantograph back on the wire after is jumped off and stranded us.

They should first wait until the development of a clean way of producing hydrogen before launching this big push. Otherwise, the world is going to become ever more polluted as more fossil fuel is used to produce the fuel.

One of the real intentions of this expensive government initiative is to distract people over the fact that Japan is lagging in real renewables, electric cars, etc.. And as the article says, fossil fuels are entrenched in Japan's heavy industries, which is run by very conservative people, and the government is trying to make them happy.

Why do they repeat paragraph five again at the end? 

It was an editor's mistake.

They should first wait until the development of a clean way of producing hydrogen before launching this big push.

Dude, did you read my post above? The Scandinavians are already producing green hydrogen in pilot plants that use renewable carbon free energy sources, wind, solar and hydro power, to produce hydrogen and ammonia for maritime propulsion. The tech is understood and being tested now. Prototype engines are running on hydrogen in Finland and Japan. The maritime industry plans to have hulls in the water on revenue producing runs powered by either hydrogen, ammonia or perhaps a mixture of these fuels, by the end of this decade.

As one of the hybrid bridges on the way to reaching mass production of green hydrogen, they are already beginning to harvest hydrogen etc., from waste emissions from other processes. This will not be an overnight revolution putting everyone out of work, but a gradual transitioning, in parallel with the EV industry.

@Desert Tortoise

Yeah that's included in the electrolyzing. My point is why don't you just use that electricity directly. Any conversion entails loses...

@What ol' Jack Burton always says

Of course there are tons of chemical compounds that have H in them. Industry wise however it should be collected efficiently and pay off. Those are limited to only a few.

I believe hydrogen would be in demand for airliners which cannot use electric motors but most of candidates for hydrogen consumers would eventually use electricity when a high dense battery is developed. that's a matter of time.

I believe hydrogen would be in demand for airliners which cannot use electric motors but most of candidates for hydrogen consumers would eventually use electricity when a high dense battery is developed. that's a matter of time.

150,000 ton container ships are probably never going to be powered by batteries. Same for long distance trains and construction equipment in remote sites.

Yeah that's included in the electrolyzing. My point is why don't you just use that electricity directly. Any conversion entails loses...

The point is, if the energy used to produce hydrogen from water is generated by wind, solar or hydro power then the hydrogen, or ammonia, is a true carbon free fuel. The losses are not material. The goal is a carbon free fuel to power ships across the world's oceans instead of using diesel or LNG as is the case now.