The Japan H2 Mobility (JHyM) joint infrastructure venture was started in February 2018 to further promote hydrogen infrastructure across Japan.
The subsidy project to establish hydrogen filling stations by the Next Generation Vehicle Programme Centre (NeV) for 2018 will subsidise 12 stations, bringing the total to 113 by the end of 2019.
The Japanese government’s Roadmap for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells specifies the development of 160 filling stations by the end of 2020 and 320 by the end of 2025. To reach the next target, 47 stations must be established in the next two years.
National budget allocations for the next year include ¥10bn ($91m) for hydrogen station development subsidiaries. It is thought that the number of stations will not exceed 20 due to the cost of one station ranging between ¥400-¥500m ($3.7m-$4.6m).
Looking forward at the construction projects for the year, nine are offsite and three are onsite, with most of them being package-type hydrogen stations that follow recent trends.
Japan is also increasing its fuel cell bus charging fuelling infrastructure. The Iwatani hydrogen station Tokyo Ariake can handle fuel cell buses, and TOHO Gas is currently building a station that can also handle fuel cell buses at the Chubu Centrair International Airport, Nagoya in Aichi, with completion scheduled for this year.
NeV projects for 2018 also included the use of fuel cell bus-compatible stations by Iwatani at the Kasai Water Reclamation Centre in Edogawa Ward of Tokyo, by Tokyo Gas in Toyosu, Tokyo and by Air Liquide Japan in Tokorozawa in Saitama Prefecture, resulting in a total of five fuel cell bus compatible stations around Japan.
Tokyo has also recently announced the introduction of 100 fuel cell buses in 2020, in time for the Tokyo Olympics.
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