JH2A's Hydrogen Newsletter Vol.5 – Jan 2026

January 9, 2026

Authors: Hitoshi Nagatsugu, Yoshie Ambe, Yu Kashiwagi, Yuichi Saotome, Yo Takai, Yosuke Hanakawa, Tomoki Fujinaga, Takahiro Maruyama, Yoshie Ambe, and Koichi Wada from Japan Hydrogen Association

1. Policy Updates

• METI Designates New Ammonia Projects under Price Gap Scheme:

  • JERA: Low-carbon ammonia from Louisiana, USA, for Hekinan Thermal Power Station and industrial furnaces (Toyota Industries, AGC, NGK, Aisin Fukui). Annual supply: 492,144 t ammonia (76,452 t H₂).

  • Mitsui & Co.: Low-carbon ammonia from Louisiana, USA, for Tomatoh-Atsuma Thermal Power Station, UBE Mitsubishi Cement, Tosoh Corp. Annual supply: 280,000 t ammonia (43,807 t H₂).
    Projects supported by JOGMEC, operational 2031–2055.

• Eco-Car Program: From Jan 2026, EV subsidy cap rises to ¥1.3M, PHEV to ¥850k; FCV reduced to ¥1.5M (effective Apr 2026). Weight-based EV/PHEV tax planned from May 2028.

2. Hydrogen Production

• MHI: 99% pure H₂ via steam-heated ammonia cracking, Nagasaki pilot; plans distributed medium-scale systems.

• Chiyoda & GeoKiln: MoU for natural hydrogen recovery and purification facility design.

• Tsubame BHB: First low-temp, low-pressure ammonia production unit in Japan (500 t/y), using domestically sourced blue hydrogen.

3. Hydrogen Utilization

• Toyota Industries: Ammonia-only engine; demonstrations FY2027.

• JTEKT: Renewable hydrogen CN Plant, hydrogen aluminum furnaces, full operation by summer 2026.

• Aisin: Green H₂ + pure-H₂ SOFC demo in Kyoto.

• Mitsubishi Kakoki: HyDel hydrogen storage + fuel cell, Kawasaki park.

• Tokyo Gas: e-methane, Manitoba, Canada, 30,000 t/y for export to Japan.

• Aichi Police: Toyota FCV patrol car.

4. Infrastructure & Supply Chain

• Kawasaki LH₂ Terminal: Groundbreaking; core facility for NEDO liquefied hydrogen supply chain.

• Hokkaido Electric Power: New Gas & Methanation Promotion Dept.; acquisition of JAPEX Hokkaido gas (¥31B).

5. Technology & R&D

• RIKEN: Chlorine suppression in water electrolysis by 33%.

• Tokyo Gas & SCREEN: Commercial CCM production, 2 GW/y, expandable to 6 GW.

• Nichias: LH₂ test facility at Hamamatsu Research Center, March 2026 completion.

6. Market & Investment

• Yano Research: Hydrogen energy market projected ¥359.9B (2030), ¥986.9B (2040), ¥1.687T (2050).

• Kanadevia: Investment in Japan Hydrogen Fund L.P., supporting infrastructure and technology across H₂, ammonia, methanol, and SAF.