KEY POINTS
- Kansai Electric and eight partners start developing hydrogen supply and environmental value management systems for rail transport
- NEDO selects the project for a hydrogen demonstration program using existing rail and telecommunications infrastructure
- March 12 basic agreement covered 12 companies in a broader Kansai-centered domestic hydrogen supply chain initiative
Andrew Karn
Kansai Electric Power and eight partner companies have begun developing systems to manage hydrogen supply and track the environmental value of hydrogen transported by rail after the project was selected for a Japanese government-backed hydrogen demonstration program, the company said on July 30.
The project was adopted under the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization’s advanced technology development and demonstration program for building hydrogen society models. The nine companies are Kansai Electric, NTT Anode Energy, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Panasonic Electric Works, Kobe Steel, NTT, West Japan Railway, Japan Freight Railway and Kawasaki Railcar Manufacturing. NTT, West Japan Railway, Japan Freight Railway and Kawasaki Railcar Manufacturing will participate as cooperating companies.
The partners aim to build a domestic hydrogen supply chain model centered on the Kansai region by using existing infrastructure such as railways and telecommunications networks, with hydrogen production and storage sites as starting points. The work will develop and demonstrate systems intended to improve supply stability and increase transparency over hydrogen’s low-carbon value to support large-scale, low-cost and low-carbon hydrogen transport.
Kansai Electric will develop and demonstrate the hydrogen supply management system, while Kawasaki Heavy will develop and demonstrate the environmental value management system. Kawasaki Heavy will also conduct a desk study on hydrogen supply using its Kobe Works as a model case. Panasonic Electric Works and Kobe Steel will take part in a hydrogen utilization demonstration at Panasonic HX Kusatsu.
The July 30 announcement follows an earlier notice on March 12 on joint studies toward building a domestic hydrogen supply chain model using existing infrastructure. On that date, 12 companies signed a basic agreement on joint studies and demonstrations for the initiative. The broader framework included logistics and shipping operators Hokusan, Imoto Lines and Nippon Express in addition to the industrial and rail companies participating in the latest project.
Japan has been promoting hydrogen as part of its decarbonization strategy, including support for supply chain development and demonstration projects. Rail freight and other existing transport infrastructure are being examined as options for moving hydrogen domestically without relying entirely on new dedicated networks.
Panasonic Electric Works joined the project after succeeding to the relevant business from Panasonic Corp. The companies said the demonstration is intended to support the social implementation of hydrogen transport using existing infrastructure and contribute to establishing a hydrogen supply chain and a zero-carbon society.
