As major economies across the globe launch initiatives to accelerate the energy transition, many sectors of the economy previously untouched by reforms feel obliged to come up with plans to bring an end to fossil fuel dependence. Japan’s hotel industry is a prime example of the energy challenges that the consumer service sector must grapple with in order to help the country meet its decarbonization goals.

In an effort to minimize its GHG emissions, a hotel in Kawasaki city has been experimenting with deploying electricity generated by burning hydrogen over the past several years. After testing the feasibility and economics of such an arrangement, the hotel owner says it’s now ready to set up its supply of hydrogen-fueled electricity on a commercial basis.

What’s more, the hotel group thinks that it might be able to implement this test project experience across its extensive portfolio of properties.

While demand for hydrogen fuel at one hotel is a tiny drop in the ocean of what people expect the hydrogen economy to become in coming decades, the Kawasaki case has captured some of the possibilities and challenges of trying to implement new energy forms into daily life and commerce.