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Research Highlights, Outline of the Hydrogen Supply Chain at Fukushima Prefecture!

Energy and Environment

Outline of the Hydrogen Supply Chain at Fukushima Prefecture!

TSUJIMURA Taku, KOJIMA Hirokazu
Renewable Energy Research Center

Update(MM/DD/YYYY):12/24/2020

Demonstration of a hydrogen supply chain towards the realization of a renewable energy society.

The researchers, with the support of the Fukushima Prefecture, have demonstrated a supply chain technology involving hydrogen production from renewable resources, hydrogen`s chemical conversion, storage and transportation, and power generation by a hydrogen co-firing engine.

The hydrogen supply chain of Fukushima Prefecture

How far hydrogen energy carriers have come!

The Fukushima Renewable Energy Institute is developing a chemical conversion system that efficiently converts renewable hydrogen into methylcyclohexane (MCH). MCH is an organic compound that is a liquid at normal temperatures and pressures. Given that 500 liters of hydrogen gas can be stored in 1 liter of MCH, this substance is a prominent candidate to be used as a hydrogen energy carrier. The researchers believe that the use of MCH will enable the storage and transportation of large quantities of renewable energy safely, and at low cost. The transported hydrogen can be used as fuel for internal combustion devices such as reciprocating engines and gas turbines. Therefore, they have been engaged in the development of technologies encompassing the manufacture, storage and use of hydrogen.

Photo: Developed hydrogen energy carrier production system

The cost of the hydrogen energy carrier production equipment has been halved, and more than 1,000 hours of generator operation was achieved.

In the supply chain, hydrogen produced using renewable energy is employed to chemically convert toluene into MCH, a hydrogen carrier. The researchers have developed a simple-structured hydrogen energy carrier production system. In the new system, the number of overall processes has been reduced to the minimum possible, and hence the system cost has been significantly reduced. In addition, the hydrogen co-firing engine has been successfully operated for more than 1,000 hours in total, producing 300 – 500 kW at a hydrogen share ratio of 40-60％.

Towards the realization of a “carbon-free” model for power generation, the researchers` ultimate goal is the on-site production and consumption of hydrogen!

Based on the demonstration results, the researchers will work to achieve constant access to renewable energy resources through the production of the hydrogen energy carrier. The utilization of the MCH will provide users with a stable supply of power and heat. Moreover, the researchers have been working on popularizing and spreading a model for on-site energy production and consumption using the hydrogen produced as a by-product by petroleum plants, iron and steel works, and chemical plants.

Contact

TSUJIMURA Taku, Leader, Team
KOJIMA Hirokazu, Senior Researcher
Hydrogen Energy Carrier Team, Renewable Energy Research Center

Fukushima Renewable Energy Institute, AIST (FREA), 2-2-9 Machiikedai, Koriyama, Fukushima 963-0298 Japan

E-mail: frea-contact-ml*aist.go.jp (Please convert “*” to “@”)

WEB: https://www.aist.go.jp/fukushima/en/unit/

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