Abstract
In order to achieve a hydrogen society, it is essential to reduce the cost of hydrogen, which represents the most significant challenge to its widespread use. As a solution to this issue, increasing the supply of hydrogen, stimulating of demand, and developing a hydrogen supply system, among other strategies, are required. In this study, potential regional ripple effects and environmental impacts of installing hydrogen production facility were estimated using the Fukushima Hydrogen Energy Research Field (FH2R) as a model. The result of the economic and environmental analysis indicate that the estimated induced production is 1.22 billion yen as a result of the installation of the hydrogen production facility. The CO2 emissions are estimated at 345 t-CO2, with the largest amount of CO2 emissions due to the electric power sector. When the net impact of the project was evaluated, taking into account the use of hydrogen, the economic ripple effect was estimated to be 1.19 billion yen, resulting in a net CO2 emission reduction of 350 t-CO2. These results indicate that a hydrogen production facility using electricity from renewable energy sources will have a positive economic ripple effect on other industries in the region and will reduce CO2 emissions.
