The Council of Strategy for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells which promotes development of hydrogen energy in collaboration with industries and academia newly formulated “Strategy for Hydrogen/FC Technical Development” clarifying the key targets to be indicated in the preceding Roadmap revised in March of this year. It is aimed to pursue the accomplishment of the target sharing the clarified technical subjects among the industry, governmental and academic fields.

The development strategy has picked out ten items to tackle with emphasis from the three fields of fuel cell, hydrogen supply chain and water electrolysis technologies. The hydrogen supply chain out of them closely related to the industrial gas has four items: (i) Large-scaled Production of Hydrogen, (ii) Transportation and Storage Technology, (iii) Hydrogen Power Generation and (iv) Hydrogen Station.

There is a plan to produce hydrogen from unutilized resources abroad and verify transportation to Japan in 2020.

In such large-scaled production and transportation it is required to upgrade efficiency of gasifying furnace using brown coal, enhancing the liquefaction of hydrogen, the development of heat insulation system of large tanks for marine transportation and large storage tanks and the liquid hydrogen pressurizing pumps to meet hydrogen power generation.
Regarding the Hydrogen Power Generation to be commercialized by 2030, they refer to a high-efficiency dehydrogenation process from hydrogen carriers like methyl cyclohexane (MCH) or ammonia.

The item of Hydrogen Station includes developments of the life extension of accumulator, electrochemical compressor and liquefied hydrogen pump. Based on these developments, a total preparatory cost for hydrogen stations is targeted at 200 million yen in 2025.

As for the management cost for stations aimed for 150 million yen per annum, it is reviewed to promote a self-service system using a remote controller and recompose the equipment, and the standardization of station facilities and their specifications have been emphasized.

METI requires a budget of 80.7 billion yen for a series of technological reinforcement programs related to hydrogen energy in the total plan for the annual budget of 2020, which will be an increase by 20.5 billion yen comparing with that of 2019. This item includes 20 billion (16 billion previously) to increase the number of FCV or EV, 13 billion (10 billion previously) for expansion of hydrogen station facilities and newly 7.5 billion for technological development of a next-generation battery to support the development of hydrogen energy.