Hydrogen is regarded as the ultimate clean energy in the future society. Various national R&D projects on hydrogen energy have been promoted. As development of fuel cell systems progresses, Japanese automakers are continuing to drastically reduce the cost of manufacturing such systems and are aiming to launch FCVs in the Japanese market, mainly in the country’s four major metropolitan areas, in 2015. In preparation for this, hydrogen fuel suppliers are aiming to construct approximately 100 hydrogen fueling stations by 2015. With an aim to significantly reduce the amount of CO₂ emitted by the transportation sector, automakers and hydrogen fuel suppliers will work together to expand the introduction of FCVs and develop the hydrogen supply network throughout Japan.

For commercializing fuel cell vehicles and their filling stations from 2015, activities related to deregulation on stations has being promoted. Nuclear power would not expand in the future due to no enough public acceptances These energy surroundings will encourage the structure of the hydrogen energy system having safety and no environmental risk, and also large mass hydrogen will be introduced in the near future. For competing with other energy, producing transporting and storing hydrogen economically should be indispensable. So, We, Kawasaki proposed the hydrogen chain called KHI CO2 free hydrogen chain, which produces hydrogen from brown coal in Australia, transports it to Japan by a LH2(liquid hydrogen) carrier. This paper describes the estimated hydrogen consumption in the middle and long term, the concept of KHI CO2 free hydrogen chain, and its main technologies such as production, liquefaction and possibility of LH2 expands to new technologies such as superconducting applications

Hydrogen energy has a significant role for the low carbon society and the solution of the global warming issue. It is necessary hydrogen is able to be stored and transported in a large-scale as same as crude oil or natural gas for massive hydrogen energy utilization. “SPERA Hydrogen System” has been developed and shift to the commercialization phase through the demonstration with a pilot plant in this year. In this paper, significance of hydrogen energy is considered again, and “SPERA Hydrogen System” is introduced.

Compressed hydrogen is delivered by tube trailers with steel cylinders at a pressure of 19.6 MPa in Japan. Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. developed two compressed hydrogen trailers with composite cylinders in collaboration with JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corporation in a project of the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO). One is designed to transport compressed hydrogen at a pressure of 35 MPa. It is currently being operated between the Yokohama Asahi Hydrogen Station and the Tokyo Suginami Hydrogen Station. The other trailer, which transports hydrogen compressed at a pressure of 45 MPa, operated between the delivery facility in Negishi and the Ebina-chuou Hydrogen Station. The 35MPa trailer has supplied hydrogen 15 times for a total transport distance of about 1,300 km and the 45MPa trailer has supplied hydrogen 4 times for a total transport distance of about 600 km, and neither trailer has exhibited any problem: no loosened container mounting parts or pipe joints, no leakage of hydrogen, and no increase in temperature.

We will briefly explain the development concept, the operating method, the applicable laws and regulations, the specifications, and the current operating situation. We will also give a brief description of the situation regarding high-pressure-hydrogen trailers with composite cylinders now in use in other countries.

The fuel cell-powered vehicle sales begins in 2015. And the construction of a hydrogen station is now accelerating. I think that the necessity of importing a lot of hydrogen from overseas in the future is certainly born. In this paper I examine hydrogen transporting system using methanol as a storage medium of hydrogen as means of that purpose.

This article explains possible energy conversion technology such as fuel cells and direct combustion by utilizing ammonia as an energy carrier. For supply of ammonia to fuel cells, catalytic activities for pre-decomposition on metal supported catalysts were investigated. Power generation characteristics of two types of fuel cells, i.e. solid oxide and anion exchange membrane fuel cells (SOFCs and AEMFCs) were evaluated by supplying ammonia to fuel electrodes. Direct supply of ammonia was possible for the power generation of SOFCs due to their high operation temperatures, whereas the allowable level of residual ammonia should be clarified for AEMFC to avoid poisoning of the electrode. As for direct combustion of ammonia, reduction of NOx emission, enhancement of combustion intensity as well as that of radiation heat transfer are the issues for utilizing ammonia as a fuel which has a significant advantage of no CO₂ emission. Some schemes to solve the issues are also discussed.

Pipelines are one of the most practical and economical measures to transport hydrogen-gas from its production site to urban consumption areas. It is necessary for regulators and operators to get public acceptance on the hydrogen pipelines which are possibly buried under public roads, and to develop technical standards resulting in the secure pipeline systems. This paper briefly reviews past and present investigation works regarding a safety aspect leading to the standards for the secure pipeline system carrying hydrogen; the works in North-America and Europe for higher-pressured hydrogen pipelines, which have more than 1 MPa of internal pressure, and those by Ministry of Economy, Trading and Industry (METI) in Japan for hydrogen distribution pipelines having lower internal pressure.