This summer, Japanese energy planners called curtains on one of the most prominent projects supported by the state’s Green Innovation Fund. The study to verify the potential of applying hydrogen as a second fuel in a thermal power plant, also known as co-firing, will close.

While those that doubt the rationale for burning hydrogen for electricity may rejoice, the development is actually a positive one for the technology’s advocates.

The official reason given for ceasing further research funding is that the tech is already well enough advanced and amply tested to suggest that, from here on, the sprint to commercialization can be done through private resources.

The cost of using hydrogen as a generation fuel, however, remains a sore issue. The debate of the need to pursue this strategy when clean hydrogen could be deployed elsewhere is also unlikely to wane anytime soon. Still, Japanese developments indicate that industry players see a path forward. Japan NRG reviews the ongoing projects in this space.