Fukushima’s Leap into Green Hydrogen

The Promises and Perils of FH2R

It was March 2020. As the crowd gathered and the cameras rolled, the late Prime Minister Abe Shinzo stepped out of the brand new hydrogen-powered Toyota MIRAI. Wasting no time, he walked to the podium. “The world’s largest facility that creates hydrogen from renewable energy is about to start its operation,” he said. 200 tons of carbon-free hydrogen — enough to power more than half of the fuel cell cars in Japan for one year — will be produced at the facility.

The year before, Abe traveled to the World Economic Forum in Davos, where he announced that his government is aiming to lower hydrogen’s production cost by at least 90% by 2050. That would make hydrogen cheaper than natural gas in many parts of the world.

“The center stage for that ambitious goal is here,” he told his audience from the podium. “In Fukushima.”

Former Prime Minister Abe’ address at the opening ceremony of the Fukushima Hydrogen Energy Research Field (NEDO Channel)

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Today, Fukushima conjures up images of the trifecta of earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster. In the last several weeks, it’s also garnered attention as the origin of the treated water that Tokyo Electric Power Company began releasing into the ocean (with extensive review and approval by the International Atomic Energy Agency and the broader scientific community).

Yet when Abe took the podium, it wasn’t about any of these things. Instead, he was celebrating Fukushima’s revival as a leader in renewable energy. More specifically, he was exhorting Fukushima’s future as a green hydrogen hub.

This address was the centerpiece of the opening ceremony of the Fukushima Hydrogen Energy Research Field — shortened to FH2R — in the town of Namie in the Fukushima Prefecture.

FH2R will play a pivotal role — maybe the only role — for Japan to domestically produce green hydrogen (hydrogen created from renewable energy). Japan is already making strides in building hydrogen supply chains across the world. Sadly, most of it won’t be from clean power sources. FH2R may be the singular hope in Japan’s ambitious yet flawed hydrogen strategy.