Source：https://www.euronews.com/2023/05/15/japan-opts-for-wind-and-hydrogen-to-help-achieve-its-green-future

Japan is seeking to develop alternative energies such as offshore wind and hydrogen, which can adapt to the country's geography, but also to the climate events it experiences.

Producing alternative energy is a priority for Japan. The country aims to reach between 36%-38% of renewable power supplies and reduce its greenhouse emissions by 46% by 2030, and energy policies will be one of the issues at the top of the agenda at the G7 Summit to be held in Japan in mid-May.

The port of Kobe is home to the world’s first liquified hydrogen carrier. Hydrogen is another clean energy that Japan is focusing on. It was the first country to draw up a hydrogen strategy in 2017.

Now it is planning an ambitious new target to boost annual supply to 12 million tonnes for 2040. Hydrogen is produced in Australia and shipped to Japan by sea, freezing it to minus 253 degrees Celsius and compressing it into a liquid.

It has done the round trip twice since it was launched in 2021.

Kawasaki Heavy Industries has developed a full hydrogen supply chain in Kobe, providing heat and power supply to the urban area.

Japan relies largely on the import of hydrogen. To use it as a regular energy source, it is necessary to reduce the costs.

"The cost of hydrogen can be reduced by transporting it in larger quantities. In order to bring the cost down to the same or even less than fossil fuels it is necessary to scale up first," Yamamoto Shigeru explained. "To reach that purpose, we will build large ships and also large tanks at the receiving base. We would like to create a larger infrastructure and scale it up for commercialisation."

The next project is a large-scale vessel more than 100 times bigger.

With this focus on innovation, Japan is pioneering the global clean energy transition and moving closer to achieving its climate change ambitions.