Asahi Kasei has joined the Japan Hydrogen Forum (JH2F), which supports the decarbonisation goals of US federal, state and local governments in the future. The Japan Hydrogen Forum was launched in 2021 by 15 Japanese companies in the hydrogen value chain in the US. The establishment of the Forum was a joint initiative by former Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and US President Joe Biden.
The JH2F receives broad support from the Japanese central government as well as from corresponding government organisations: these include the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), the Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC) or the Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI). The operational work of the board is shaped by five committees: Hydrogen Production, Land Transport, Decarbonisation of Ports, Power Generation, and Financing. Asahi Kasei will focus on the Hydrogen Production Committee.
The "green" hydrogen business is one of Asahi Kasei's 10 Growth Gears (GG10) defined in the management plan until 2024 under the motto "Be a Trailblazer". The alkaline water electrolysis system for hydrogen production is based on almost 50 years of the company's experience and expertise in chlor-alkali electrolysis.
In addition, the company has installed a 10 MW-scale alkaline water electrolysis system at the Fukushima Hydrogen Energy Research Field (FH2R) as part of a project led by Japan's NEDO and has conducted several trial operations since 2020. Based on the experience gained from FH2R, Asahi Kasei plans to commercialise a larger alkaline water electrolysis system with several 10-MW modules by 2025.
The Japanese technology group wants to contribute to the development of a hydrogen society together with various governmental and non-governmental organisations as well as with companies in the hydrogen value chain in the USA. For this purpose, corresponding concepts are to be developed that promote cooperation. The company also plans to expand its business in the United States with large alkaline water electrolysis systems, including customer service and technical services.
Autor(en): mak
