Author: Xu Jingbo, President of Asia News Agency.
In the past few days, I have returned to China for a meeting to talk to you about the future of China's economy, and I actively encourage everyone to pay attention to the hydrogen energy industry. However, one of the most frequently asked questions is: will hydrogen be **?
Obviously, for the cognition of "hydrogen energy", some of our friends are still stuck in the era of "hydrogen bomb mushroom cloud".
So, is hydrogen a "hazardous chemical" or a general "flammable and explosive" like liquefied petroleum gas? There is no definitive conclusion.
In the Japanese legal system, "hydrogen" is classified as a "high-pressure gas", that is, it is a substance with the same properties as petroleum liquefied gas, and it is a general "flammable and explosive substance".
In this case, if liquefied petroleum gas can enter homes directly, then "hydrogen" can certainly enter homes safely.
This requires a new understanding that hydrogen energy is not only the power energy source for cars, ships, trains, etc., but also the basic energy source of a country, which can replace the conventional electricity in buildings. For example, the average household needs two sources of energy – electricity and gas. When hydrogen enters the home, it can replace electricity and gas, providing electricity for cooking, cooking (induction cooker) and hot water** (a large amount of hot water can be generated during the production of hydrogen by electrolysis of water).
Schematic diagram of the establishment of a hydrogen society in Japan.
In the Hydrogen Development Plan adopted in June 2023, Japan** has set a target of 10 million tons of hydrogen per year by 2030. By 2050, the goal is to produce 20 million tons of hydrogen a year.
In 2021, Japan's annual energy consumption will be about 20 million tons, which means that according to Japan's goal of developing hydrogen energy, by 2050, Japan will be able to solve the electricity needs of the whole society by relying on hydrogen energy alone without nuclear power, hydropower, etc., so that Japan can truly enter a "zero-emission" hydrogen society.
In November 2023, Toyota Motor Corporation launched the third-generation hydrogen sedan, the Crown Hydrogen Sedan, which is 5 meters long and 1 meter wideAt 89 meters, it is the largest model in the more than half century since the birth of the crown car. This limousine can travel 830 kilometers in 3 minutes with hydrogen. The current standard price is 8.3 million yen (about 400,000 yuan), and after enjoying the subsidy for new energy vehicles, the actual purchase of the car is about 6.2 million yen (about 290,000 yuan).
Toyota's Crown hydrogen sedan.
In addition, the 25-ton hydrogen heavy-duty truck jointly developed and manufactured by Toyota and its subsidiary, Hino Motors, is equipped with six high-pressure gas tanks and uses two stack systems to inflate and travel 600 kilometers in six minutes. The 25-ton hydrogen energy heavy-duty truck jointly developed and manufactured by Isuzu Motors and Honda Motor Company has installed a total of 8 high-pressure gas tanks and used 4 stack systems, which can run more than 800 kilometers in 10 minutes of hydrogen refueling.
Isuzu and Honda jointly launched a 25-ton hydrogen heavy-duty truck.
Recently, the Olympians' Village (officially known as "Harumi Flag"), a 10-minute drive from Ginza, has begun to be put into use, and the first residents have begun to move in. It is a large, modern community on the edge of beautiful Tokyo Bay, and when fully completed, it will be occupied by 4,500 households. This community is also currently the world's largest hydrogen energy community, hydrogen through the pipeline directly to the first floor of each apartment building, the first floor of the water electrolysis hydrogen generator set directly to generate electricity, the electricity generated through the ordinary circuit into the family's hydrogen energy storage battery, for the needs of household electricity. In the event of a power outage, the hydrogen battery can also ensure the electricity needs of the family for 7 days.
This large-scale hydrogen power generation system is developed and manufactured by Panasonic Electric Corporation.
The world's first large-scale hydrogen energy community - Qinghaiqi.
In addition to the Tokyo metropolis that began to bring hydrogen into apartment buildings, in Fukushima Prefecture, hydrogen energy began to enter ordinary households.
Fukushima Prefecture is Japan's largest power province with two nuclear power plants, but since the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident, all nuclear power has been stopped. As a result, in 2020, the town of Nanami, near the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, built the world's largest "green hydrogen plant" that produces hydrogen from oil and gas using solar power generation and oil and gas as raw materials, with an annual hydrogen production capacity of 10,000 tons.
The hydrogen produced is now being used by local households. Let's take a look at two **:
This is the scenario for hydrogenation.
This is a hydrogen tank distribution scenario.
This hydrogen power generation system for home use is developed and manufactured by Hitachi and consists of three parts:
1. Outdoor water electrolysis hydrogen generator box.
2. Household hydrogen energy storage battery.
3. Hot water supply system (electrolysis of water to hydrogen energy to produce hot water of about 60 degrees).
In the evening, the hydrogen generator set starts to generate electricity automatically to supplement the energy consumption of the energy storage battery.
As the world's leading country in hydrogen energy technology, the above facts show that Japan has taken a solid lead step in the field of building a hydrogen society.
I think some of Japan's practices can also be used as a reference for China's development of the hydrogen energy industry.