On October 14, 2020, Kansai Electric Power (KEPCO, Headquarters: Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture) announced that it had joined the Preparatory Committee which will work to establish the Hydrogen Value Chain Promotion Council by early December 2020. The Council will seek to promote global cooperation in the development of the hydrogen sector and the formation of hydrogen supply chains. The Preparatory Committee consists of nine companies[1] including KEPCO.[2]
Many countries, including Japan, are currently working towards the realization of a hydrogen society due to the potential for hydrogen technologies to help reduce CO2 emissions. The Hydrogen Value Chain Promotion Council will take the following actions:
· Promote cross-cutting initiatives to build a hydrogen value chain.
· Accelerate the application of hydrogen technologies to solve societal needs and challenges.
· Promote the creation of a hydrogen financing scheme in collaboration with financial institutions.
Prior to joining the Preparatory Committee, KEPCO has already been working on accelerating the development of hydrogen technology, such as establishing Hydro Edge (Headquarters: Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture)[3], a joint venture involving KEPCO and other investors that manufactures and sells liquid hydrogen. KEPCO has also conducted a series of hydrogen demonstration tests and studies with the support of the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO, Headquarters: Tokyo). The research has included demonstrations of the efficiency of hydrogen co-generation systems (CGS) and hydrogen-fueled gas turbine operations with dry low NOx combustion technology[4], as well as exploring the possibility of integrating hydrogen into existing thermal power plants.
KEPCO plans to further accelerate its efforts to promote hydrogen utilization as a member of the committee through collaboration with the other participating organizations and businesses to explore hydrogen’s potential and through future work to overcome barriers to the realization of a hydrogen society.[5]
[1] The Preparatory Committee consists of KEPCO; Iwatani (Headquarters: Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture), a trading company supplying gases for industrial and household use ; ENEOS (Headquarters: Tokyo), a petroleum company ; Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI, Headquarters: Tokyo) , a heavy machinery manufacturer; Kobe Steel (Headquarters: Kobe City, Hyogo Prefecture), a steel manufacturer ; Toshiba (Headquarters: Tokyo); Toyota (Headquarters: Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture); Sumitomo Mitsui Financial (Headquarters: Tokyo), a financing group provides banking services ; and Mitsui & Co (Headquarters: Tokyo) , a Japanese trading company.
[2] https://www.kepco.co.jp/corporate/pr/2020/pdf/1014_2j_01.pdf