Japanese media: Japan’s hydrogen energy strategy encounters high procurement costs

According to the “Nihon Keizai Shimbun” report on December 5, more and more people are beginning to worry that Japan, which originally used hydrogen as the main energy source for the next generation and was once a leader in the field of hydrogen energy utilization, is inadvertently falling behind.

According to reports, in Japan, the procurement cost of hydrogen is very high. According to a report jointly released by the “International Hydrogen Energy Council” composed of more than 150 multinational companies and McKinsey, Japan’s hydrogen procurement cost is expected to reach 2.85 US dollars per kilogram by 2050, which is 2.3 times that of the United States, and the cost is relatively high.

According to reports, the hydrogen currently circulating in the market can be roughly divided into “blue hydrogen” from fossil fuels and “green hydrogen” from renewable energy. Green hydrogen has a high decarbonization effect and a broader prospect, and Japan is also stepping up the localization of green hydrogen.

According to an analysis by the International Renewable Energy Agency, Japan and South Korea are the countries with the highest green hydrogen manufacturing costs in the world. The two countries have short periods of sunshine and insufficient space to install wind power facilities.

According to the report, if the self-sufficiency of green hydrogen cannot be achieved due to cost reasons, it can only continue to rely on overseas imports.

The International Renewable Energy Agency predicts that by 2050, 55% of the hydrogen traded on the international market will be transported by pipeline. The European Union has drawn up plans to import the hydrogen that cannot be self-sufficient through pipelines from North Africa, where renewable energy is cheap and close. However, Japan, surrounded by the sea, can only transport locally produced hydrogen back to Japan from the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Oceania, and the American continent by liquefied hydrogen transport ships or by converting hydrogen into ammonia. Rising shipping costs have made Japan less cost-competitive than Europe.

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