Abstract
Hydrogen energy has been identified by the Japanese government as a way to address energy security and energy efficiency, to reduce CO2 emissions, and to promote industry development. Their Hydrogen Strategic Roadmap presents three phases of development plans towards the realisation of ‘hydrogen society’. From our interviews with key stakeholders in the government and industry, and the documents we collected, we see two parallel strategic pathways. One is a vision based on centralisation with an emphasis of the development of hydrogen transport and domestic energy systems that use fossil fuels to produce hydrogen energy for the next twenty years, while keeping the future CO2-free hydrogen generation in the scope. The other pathway is an outlook for decentralised, local systems, taking more holistic approaches to the realisation of hydrogen society with solar- and wind-powered hydrogen production and locally integrated supply chains. Furthermore, these strategies include varied applications of hydrogen energy to end use consumption. The difference between the two strategies is the scale of end use application they envisage. Both strategies focus on fuel cell vehicles, such as passenger cars, buses and industrial forklifts, and the domestic hot water and power cogeneration system called ‘Ene-Farm’. The latter strategy, however, includes a larger scale of mass hydrogen energy application, with the contribution to the overall carbon emissions in mind. In light of this mixed picture, we explore how to keep a balance between the two pathways and how to manage a successful transition to sustainability.
Original language | English |
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Publication status | Published - Aug 2017 |
Event | European Sociological Association Conference - Athen, Greece Duration: 29 Aug 2017 → 1 Sep 2017 |
Conference
Conference | European Sociological Association Conference |
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Abbreviated title | ESA |
Country | Greece |
City | Athen |
Period | 29/08/17 → 1/09/17 |