Japan opens the largest hydrogen production unit on the globe

A consortium in the country has launched the Fukushima Hydrogen Energy Research Field.

A Japanese consortium has now launched a renewable energy-powered 10 MW-class hydrogen production unit. This makes the Fukushima Hydrogen Energy Research Field (FH2R) the largest class in the world.

The country first started the construction of FH2R back in 2018 and is based in Namie town.

The town is located in Fukushima Prefecture. The consortium behind this new massive hydrogen production unit consists of Toshiba Energy Systems & Solutions Corporation (Toshiba ESS), the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), Iwatani Corporation, and Tohoku Electric Power Co.

The FH2R facility is powered by renewable energy, which means it is powered by a source at risk of fluctuations. In order to compensate for that risk, FH2R will adjust based on the power grid’s supply and demand. This way, it becomes possible to get the most of the energy’s use while establishing green, low-cost H2 production tech.

The 180,000 m2 FH2R hydrogen power unit uses 20 MW of solar power generation facilities.

In addition, it receives power from the grid. This is required to power the electrolysis of water. This makes it a renewable energy powered 10 MW class facility. Its capacity for production, storage and supply is up to 1,200 Nm3 of hydrogen per hour (rated power operation).

The H2 that FH2R produces will also be used for powering stationary hydrogen fuel cell systems as well as for fuel cell cars and buses, mobility devices and other purposes.

The fuel is produced and stored based on a forecasting system for demand and supply for what will be needed in the market. Adjustments for balancing the demand and supply in the power grid will become possible through the adjustment of the hydrogen volume produced by the H2 production unit to meet the needs of the power grid from its control system.

Throughout this effort, the main challenge from the testing stage will be for the use of the hydrogen production unit’s management system to produce the ideal balance of producing and storing H2, with the supply-demand balancing adjustments of the power grid. Optimally, this will be achieved without having to use storage batteries.