Japanese Public and Private Sectors will join forces in the initiative to trial a full-fledged carbon-neutral hydrogen supply chain powered by renewable wind energy. The trials are said to take place near the cities of Yokohama and Kawasaki in the Keihin coastal region.

Disturbing amounts of the world's greenhouse gas emissions, effectively helping our climate to change drastically, is not something you haven't heard before. But knowing that nearly 25 gigatons (!) of CO2 actually derive from people using fossil fuels in electricity and heat generation, industry and transportation, makes the entire issue even more outrageous – it's people who are messing things up, so it's people who need to finally get a grip (thankfully, many already have) and stop pretending it's not affecting them.

Japan is one of those countries that decided to take the bull by the horns and started to tackle the idea of establishing carbon-neutral supply chains across different sectors.

The most common way of creating the hydrogen today is through a reaction between methane and steam, or directly from water through electrolysis. These processes (usually) all require electricity, which is (usually) still produced using fossil-fuel-burning power plants. Hence, the Japanese trial project will involve eco-conscious wind power to turn water into oxygen and hydrogen by electrolyzing water, with systems in place to store and transport hydrogen.

According to project managers, "grid power will only be used for backup when there is no other alternative", adding that "excess renewable energy produced may even be sold to utility companies."

Implementation is set to begin (presumably) in April 2016, expecting the project to conclude in four years.

Sept. 9, 2015 Driving photo: Toyota

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