The session on Green Hydrogen for the R1 region (Australia, China, Japan, Korea and parts of Southeast Asia) was moderated by Nehal Divekar, Manager – Consulting of Emerging Technologies at CES. The panel consisted of Ohira Eiji, Director, New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), Mahshid Zaresharif, Hydrogen Solutions Development Specialist, Siemens Energy, and Brendan Norman, Co-Founder & CEO, H2X.
Ohira Eiji took attendees through the import of hydrogen via ports and explained Japan's $2 target for hydrogen vis-à-vis the US's plan for green hydrogen to cost $1 per kg within a decade, popularly known as '1-1-1'. Japan's $2 price is actually the country's expected cost for imports.
Mahshid Zaresharif, taking attendees through hydrogen projects in the region, touched upon the government impetus for Green Hydrogen, and explained the strong potential, but also mentioned the difficulties in achieving financial closure for some projects, explaining that large green hydrogen projects are still in early development stages.
Zaresharif was clear the industry was still evolving. "Nobody is mature in this industry. Commissioning a project doesn't mean its complete, there is a lot of preventive maintenance and providing accurate degradation rates, improving simulations etc," she said.
Brendan Norman covered hydrogen fuel cells and how his company works with partners (including governments) to launch hydrogen vehicles in scalable numbers.
He pointed out to an advantage hydrogen-fuelled vehicles can boast over EVs: they can be "topped up" in minutes, unlike the hours that are required to re-charge an EV.
Answers from the Session Polls (Selected):
What is the current GW installation of electrolyzes for green hydrogen production in the region?
- 76 percent said >5 GW with mainly only pilot installations
- 20 percent said 5–10 GW under implementation
Which application is key focus for Hydrogen adoption in the region?
- 33 percent say Industrial (as feedstock)
- 33 percent say Power Generation
- 27 percent say Land Transportation