Milestones

The Japanese-German research trip on green hydrogen, including several site-visits, started on February 27 with the 3rd meeting of the hydrogen working group of the Japanese-German Energy Partnership at BMWK in Berlin. Dr. Christine Falken-Großer (BMWK) welcomed the Japanese delegation with her counterpart Tomahiko Adachi (METI) to discuss recent developments in hydrogen policy and past and future activities of the working group. The morning session was dedicated to recent developments on hydrogen policies in both countries, an update on H2Global, green hydrogen certification and regulatory framework conditions for hydrogen usage. The focus of the afternoon session was on different use-cases and no-regret applications for hydrogen in different sectors, such as green steel and hydrogen mobility. Future discussions of the working group will include different financing mechanisms, hydrogen transport and infrastructure as well as a deep dive into the decarbonization of the steel and chemical industry. On February 28, the research trip continued with several exciting site-visits to exchange on and gain practical insights into German hydrogen technologies and projects. The day started with a visit and tour of the HydrogenLab at Fraunhofer-Institut für Windenergiesysteme (IWES) in Leuna, which serves as a research unit for electrolysis tests and also included a specific in-depth explanation on the on-site Sunfire GmbH high-temperature elctrolyser. The second visit to the Fraunhofer Center for Chemical Biotechnological Processes (CBP), focused on the combination of biotechnological processes with chemical processes, for example, Power-to-X. The informative day ended with a visit to Graforce GmbH which offers promising power-to-X modular plants for the generation of CO2-free or CO2-negative hydrogen and synthetic raw materials. March 1st concluded the research trip with meetings of two innovative players of the German hydrogen industry landscape. In the morning, the delegation received an in-depth presentation on the different H2-solutions of the APEX Group for Ptx, H2-mobility and H2-storage and transport solutions, followed by an insightful tour of the company’s own hydrogen power plant located in Rostock-Laage and their H2-refuelling station. In the afternoon, representatives of EXYTRON Vertrieb GmbH, located in Rostock, provided insights on their patented power-to-X-energy systems and explained how a hydrogen-based, emission-free and self-sufficient energy supply can be realized for residential quarters, commercial and industrial facilities and even entire city districts.

On the 27th of September the 2nd Cooperation Committee Meeting (CCM) of the Japanese-German Energy Partnership took place as a hybrid meeting in Tokyo and online as a video conference with representatives from both ministries. The meeting serves to discuss the results of the cooperation so far and to set the goals and priorities for the future activities within the energy partnership. Current topics in energy policy were discussed and representatives from both countries provided insights into recent developments. The two working groups (WG1 Energy Transition, WG2 Hydrogen) presented their focus topics discussed so far, the formats that have already been implemented, and which next steps are planned. The working groups have dealt so far with diverse issues such as energy efficiency, offshore wind energy, the liberalization of the electricity market, digitalization and energy management, support schemes for hydrogen production and international hydrogen projects, integrated supply chains and the role of hydrogen hubs. As part of the delegation trip, a German and Japanese delegation also took part in the Hydrogen Energy Ministerial Meeting, which took place the day before the CCM, on September 26, with the participation of high-ranking politicians from various countries to deepen the discussions on the multinational cooperation and promotion of hydrogen.

With a special focus on offshore wind and energy efficiency, the 4th meeting of the Energy Transition Working Group took place on May 10th with the participation of METI and BMWK as well as experts from the two priority areas. The ministries took the opportunity to learn about current energy policy developments in their respective partner countries, from which new ideas for future exchange formats could be generated. In the subsequent discussion round, the challenges, but also the importance of expanding renewable energies and increasing energy efficiency in view of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine were discussed.

On 5th of April, during the 2nd meeting of the Hydrogen Working Group, a fruitful exchange took place between representatives of the partner ministries METI and BMWK as well as hydrogen experts on national hydrogen hubs and the complementary development of international supply chains. The presentation of the hydrogen hubs in the prefectures of Fukushima and Yamanashi as well as in Hamburg and Essen illustrated how the task of simultaneous development of supply and demand is implemented in Japan and Germany. The discussion made clear that while ample political support is ensured overall, it should have a stronger focus on stimulating demand, e.g. in the form of bridging the price gap between hydrogen and conventional solutions. The exchange highlighted that both countries face similar challenges and opportunities when it comes to building regional and international hydrogen supply chains.

On June 28, 2021, the annual high-level cooperation committee meeting took place, which determined the focus of this year's work within the energy partnership. Within the framework of WG1 (energy transition), the exchange will focus on the three topics of offshore wind, energy management and digitalization, and energy efficiency in industry. Within the framework of WG1, a follow-up to the expert workshop in June on possible hydrogen cooperation projects between companies in both countries is planned. Other thematic focal points include hydrogen applications for decarbonizing industry and the transport sector, as well as possible projects in third countries.

On February 25, 2021, the 3^rd meeting of the Energy Transition Working Group (WG2) took place. The meeting provided a platform for an active discussion on the study “Energy Efficiency in Industry: Japan and Germany”. A further exchange on the effectiveness of energy efficiency measures was agreed upon by the participants. In addition, voluntary approaches related to energy efficiency, offshore wind cost reductions and joint offshore R&D projects were identified as further future fields of cooperation and exchange.