Japan and the European Union agreed on Monday to cooperate on policies related to creating supply and demand for clean hydrogen, and to cooperate in promoting technologies to develop the new fuel, a joint statement said.
Japan sees hydrogen as a new and cleaner source to gradually replace liquefied natural gas, as part of the country’s path to carbon neutrality by 2050. For Europe, hydrogen is one of the options to phase out the use of Russian fossil fuels.
“Hydrogen will very soon be an international commodity, and close cooperation between the EU and Japan will be essential to promote renewable and low-carbon hydrogen globally, and to ensure convergence of standards and regulations,” said Kadri Simson, European Commissioner for energy, to reporters.
On Monday, Simson met Economy Minister Ken Saito, and the two also chaired a Japan-EU hydrogen business forum attended by executives from Jera, Tokyo Gas, Mitsui, Iwatani and others.
The EU aims to produce 10 million tonnes of renewable hydrogen and import 10 million tonnes of renewable hydrogen by 2030 as the bloc moves to cut carbon emissions, but the move will require infrastructure investment to meet demand to create the new fuel.
“Hydrogen is a major priority for European energy policy, and hydrogen will help us get rid of the remaining Russian fossil fuels. But it also helps us in the long term to decarbonize our industry,” Simson said on Monday.
Last week, Germany, a major buyer of Russian gas before Moscow launched an invasion of Ukraine in 2022, approved a bill to speed up the construction of hydrogen infrastructure, import and production facilities, also as it aims to reduce emissions.
Japan plans to spend ¥3 trillion ($19 billion) over the next 15 years to subsidize clean hydrogen production, the Nikkei said.
Japanese trading house Itochu said on Monday it is conducting a feasibility study on building a hydrogen and ammonia supply chain in Kitakyushu, one of the country’s future offshore wind hubs.
