Mitsubishi and Panasonic introduce JAPAN Forward to some of the technologies that can help in achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Arielle Busetto, JAPAN Forward

The United Nations Climate Change Conference of Parties, also known as COP26, ended in Glasgow on the evening of November 13.

In a debated yet historic Glasgow Climate Pact, countries agreed on several steps to tackle global warming, including measures to keep the rise of temperatures to less than 1.5 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial times.

What is Japan doing to contribute to these global targets?

After all, the NGO Climate Action Network awarded Japan one of its “Fossil of the Day” awards on November 2, accusing Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of having “deluded dreams” about the use of hydrogen and ammonia on the road to carbon neutrality. They argued that “these novice and costly technologies are linked to fossil fuel extraction and would leave little chance of meeting the global 1.5C degrees targets.”

Then, on November 10, Kishida talked about the country’s commitment to green energy in a press conference, pointing out that “explaining more about technologies such as ammonia and hydrogen could increase the understanding.”

In fact, it turns out that Japan is doing quite a lot in developing emerging technologies, such as hydrogen, renewable energy, AI, and more.

Some of these technologies were on offer in Glasgow. At the COP26 Japan Pavilion, Naomi Inoue, the official in charge, said, “We want to show the technologies that Japan can be proud of.”

In two parts, beginning with hydrogen technology, JAPAN Forward looks into some of the technologies coming out of Japan that could help in the aim of achieving net carbon emissions by 2050.

Japan and Hydrogen Technology

Japan has been a pioneer in hydrogen-related technologies.

As of 2019, Japan was one of only three countries (together with France and South Korea) to have strategies for the use of hydrogen. Now, there are more than 17 countries on that list, and 20 others have publicly announced their interest to be part of it.

“It is important to support the development of low-carbon hydrogen if governments are going to meet their climate and energy ambitions,” said Fatih Birol in a press release, executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), in October.

Most of the time, the basic principle is to use heat to generate hydrogen, which can then be used to create electricity. Hydrogen can then have different uses, such as storing energy in fuel cells, thanks to its high-energy properties.

The heat necessary to generate hydrogen can be derived in many ways, including renewable energy sources, which gives it the attribute of “green hydrogen,” and thereby has zero-carbon emissions.