BY DR. VENERA N. ANDERSON
Japan has painted its development of a clean hydrogen society as largely moving from ‘gray’ fuel (the production of which releases emissions) to ‘blue’ (which seeks to capture/ store those emissions) and to ‘green’ (no/ low emissions during electrolysis powered by renewables).
Yet, while ‘green’ hydrogen is often heralded as the sustainable choice, ‘pink’ should be the color of Japan’s clean energy future (2040-beyond) if produced based on a partial circular economy approach. ‘Pink’ hydrogen is produced by nuclear-powered electrolysis. While the country seeks to raise the share of electricity in the mix from renewable sources, nearly 20 GW of nuclear capacity remains unused due to roadblocks in the regulatory or local government processes.
Restarting this capacity — and adding new nuclear facilities tailored for hydrogen production – could offer a practical and economic way to create domestic hydrogen supply without diverting Japan’s scant renewable resources from the power grid.
Japan’s energy dilemma is acute as it imports nearly 97% of its primary energy, relying heavily on LNG and oil shipments, making its primary energy self-sufficiency ratio critically low. Nuclear energy, curtailed post-Fukushima, is being rehabilitated, but the domestic fleet of reactors is aging. The cost of building new reactors makes it difficult to see how they will compete in a liberalized electricity market without certain state support.
According to my research, over the past year using numerous Japanese and global sources and interviews, promoting nuclear as one of the primary power sources for domestic hydrogen production would hit several goals – cost, stability, energy security, and industrial competitiveness. This special column for Japan NRG, based on my thesis submitted to Johns Hopkins University late last year, outlines some of these arguments.