TOKYO (The Yomiuri Shimbun/ANN) — The government is set to initiate a move to commercialize hydrogen produced at the world’s largest-scale hydrogen production facility as part of a plan to accelerate the Fukushima Plan for a New Energy Society. The commercialization of hydrogen from the Fukushima Hydrogen Energy Research Field (FH2R) in Namie, Fukushima Prefecture, is likely to begin in fiscal 2026. The facility opened in 2020. The central government, the Fukushima prefectural government and other parties were set to agree on the move to accelerate the Fukushima new energy plan Wednesday. According to a draft of the plan, beginning full-scale hydrogen supply using FH2R in fiscal 2026 would be part of establishing a hydrogen supply chain.
Currently, a demonstration project is underway at FH2R aimed at stabilizing hydrogen supply. Moving forward, the government will study support measures necessary for commercialization and accelerate discussions regarding issues including a review of the operating entity, according to the draft.
The draft calls for exploring new forms of transportation that run on hydrogen in addition to existing fuel cell vehicles.