7 BETTING ON HYDROGEN: JAPAN’S GREEN INDUSTRIAL POLICY …
171
Storage of the massive amounts of hydrogen is a final technological
problem that must be overcome. The IEA reports that “underground
storage of hydrogen in salt caverns and depleted oil wells is a wellestablished practice,” while the German government states that storing
hydrogen gas can utilize the country’s existing “extensive gas grid” (IEA
Hydrogen 2017, p. 58; Germany Trade & Invest 2017). If these obstacles can be resolved, the industry’s Hydrogen Council, predicts that soon
some “250 to 300 tWh of surplus renewable electricity could be stored in
the form of hydrogen,” with a 2050 goal of 500 TWh (Hydrogen Council
2017, p. 10). 27 If successful, hydrogen-based energy storage could allow
for the flexible distribution of energy across sectors, regions, and even
across time (Lazarou and Makridis 2017, p. 5).
Securing the Green Hydrogen Supply Chain. The final set of technological problems facing the hydrogen society is the creation of a stable supply
chain for green hydrogen. Japan’s decision to create its Hydrogen Society
spurred Japanese companies to redouble their efforts, but all realize that
the amount of hydrogen that will be needed is massive. Furthermore,
many technical solutions, especially how best to transport hydrogen over
long distances, are only now in the research and development phase. As a
result, the 2014 Road Map simply calls for more sustained R&D efforts
and relegates them to Phase 3, set to show fruit only around 2040.
Currently, most hydrogen produced worldwide is not considered
green, with 95% using steam methane reforming. Steam reformers could
use carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology, but while some
research efforts in Japan aim to bring these costs down, the process is still
expensive (U.S. Department of Energy 2016). 28 It should also be noted
that the Road Map also calls for the use of “unutilized energy resources
imported from overseas,” which basically means “low-grade coals like
lignite, crude petroleum, and associated gas in gas fields” (METI/ANRE
2015, p. 10). This far-from-green policy is in part a pragmatic recognition
that the world simply cannot create enough green hydrogen currently.
How long Japan will rely on non-green hydrogen will depend on
progress toward the final piece of the production puzzle: lowering the
cost of creating hydrogen through the electrolysis of water, in which electricity is used to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. Analysts have
discussed for decades creating hydrogen not only from solar and wind,
but also hydro, nuclear, geothermal, and more recently from biomass, all
processes known as “power to gas” or P2G technology. In any case, this
171
Storage of the massive amounts of hydrogen is a final technological
problem that must be overcome. The IEA reports that “underground
storage of hydrogen in salt caverns and depleted oil wells is a wellestablished practice,” while the German government states that storing
hydrogen gas can utilize the country’s existing “extensive gas grid” (IEA
Hydrogen 2017, p. 58; Germany Trade & Invest 2017). If these obstacles can be resolved, the industry’s Hydrogen Council, predicts that soon
some “250 to 300 tWh of surplus renewable electricity could be stored in
the form of hydrogen,” with a 2050 goal of 500 TWh (Hydrogen Council
2017, p. 10). 27 If successful, hydrogen-based energy storage could allow
for the flexible distribution of energy across sectors, regions, and even
across time (Lazarou and Makridis 2017, p. 5).
Securing the Green Hydrogen Supply Chain. The final set of technological problems facing the hydrogen society is the creation of a stable supply
chain for green hydrogen. Japan’s decision to create its Hydrogen Society
spurred Japanese companies to redouble their efforts, but all realize that
the amount of hydrogen that will be needed is massive. Furthermore,
many technical solutions, especially how best to transport hydrogen over
long distances, are only now in the research and development phase. As a
result, the 2014 Road Map simply calls for more sustained R&D efforts
and relegates them to Phase 3, set to show fruit only around 2040.
Currently, most hydrogen produced worldwide is not considered
green, with 95% using steam methane reforming. Steam reformers could
use carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology, but while some
research efforts in Japan aim to bring these costs down, the process is still
expensive (U.S. Department of Energy 2016). 28 It should also be noted
that the Road Map also calls for the use of “unutilized energy resources
imported from overseas,” which basically means “low-grade coals like
lignite, crude petroleum, and associated gas in gas fields” (METI/ANRE
2015, p. 10). This far-from-green policy is in part a pragmatic recognition
that the world simply cannot create enough green hydrogen currently.
How long Japan will rely on non-green hydrogen will depend on
progress toward the final piece of the production puzzle: lowering the
cost of creating hydrogen through the electrolysis of water, in which electricity is used to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. Analysts have
discussed for decades creating hydrogen not only from solar and wind,
but also hydro, nuclear, geothermal, and more recently from biomass, all
processes known as “power to gas” or P2G technology. In any case, this