With the increasing impact of climate change becoming more and more tangible, achieving carbon neutrality—net-zero greenhouse gas emissions—has become an urgent priority.

The key is hydrogen, often referred to as the ultimate energy medium. Hydrogen does not emit carbon dioxide (CO₂) when burned and can be obtained from a variety of sources. In November 2023, Kobe University established the Research Center for Hydrogen Energy Technology (HyTec), which is engaged in research with an eye toward the future.

Japan has been a world leader in hydrogen research; in 2017, Japan became the first country to formulate a basic hydrogen strategy, positioning hydrogen as a viable new energy option. Expectations for the use of hydrogen in Japan are growing, as evidenced by the enactment of the Act on Hydrogen Society Promotion in May of this year. However, there are still many academic, technological, and social hurdles to overcome in order to realize a hydrogen society. Efforts to overcome these hurdles and create a new world are now undertaken at Kobe University’s Fukae Campus.

The path to establishing Kobe University’s Research Center for Hydrogen Energy Technology began in 1969, when the Kobe University of Mercantile Marine (now Kobe University’s Faculty of Maritime Sciences) started researching liquid helium production at cryogenic temperatures. This research, which began with the study of liquid helium at minus 269 ?C (which becomes superfluid at even lower temperatures) and superconductivity, culminated in the development of the “Yamato 1,” a superconducting electromagnetohydrodynamic propulsion ship driven by a magnetic field generated by superconducting magnets.

After the 1995 Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, the university also embarked on demonstrating ocean current magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) power generation, which operates on principles opposite to those of electromagnetic propulsion.

Foundational technologies supporting a hydrogen society

In 2004, the research focus shifted from helium to hydrogen. Professor TAKEDA Minoru recalls, “For about 20 years, I had been thinking that hydrogen energy would be necessary in the future and that liquid hydrogen would be the next research focus.” Hydrogen, with a boiling point of minus 253 ?C, is ideal for transportation as its volume in liquid form is approximately one-eight-hundredth of its gaseous form. Unlike helium, which does not combust, hydrogen has high potential as an energy medium.

Takeda and his team began their research on hydrogen from the standpoint of applying superconductivity. One significant achievement was the development of a superconducting level gauge for liquid hydrogen in collaboration with Iwatani Industrial Gases Corporation. This can measure the liquid level with high precision and will be a fundamental technology that will support a future hydrogen society. It has already been commercialized and is expected to be used to manage liquid levels during transportation, supply and sales, as well as in fuel cell trucks running on liquid hydrogen.

Kobe University’s research on hydrogen has continued to evolve. In 2015, a dedicated liquid hydrogen experiment building was completed. This facility conducts various experiments essential for a hydrogen society, such as storage tests and the impact of vibrations during transportation. In 2017, liquid hydrogen tanks and experimental equipment were installed on the Fukae Maru, a training ship owned by Kobe University at the time, and data was obtained while sailing. This was the world’s first successful sea transport experiment of liquid hydrogen.

In addition to research on hydrogen, the center has another major research stream focusing on renewable energy, that is, offshore wind power. The center has long been involved in analyzing wind conditions using weather models and satellite observation data, achieving accurate wind condition forecasts. The resulting offshore wind map NeoWins was released by the university spin-off venture NEDO in 2017 and has become an indispensable tool for offshore wind power development. Additionally, in collaboration with another university spin-off venture, Rera Tech Inc., and others, the Mutsu Ogawara Test Site for Offshore Wind Measurement (in Rokkasho Village, Aomori Prefecture) was established. The site can be widely used by companies and others to verify the accuracy of wind observation equipment. This is the first facility of its kind in Japan and is contributing to the spread of wind power generation.

Outcomes from industry-government-academia collaboration

The Research Center for Hydrogen Energy Technology emphasizes collaboration with industry. The center opens its laboratories for technological development using liquid hydrogen, which will be used by many companies, and will transcend the boundaries between faculties and gather the knowledge of the entire university at the Fukae Campus. “We have formulated the ‘Fukae Campus Open Laboratory’ concept, targeting its launch by next fiscal year,” says Takeda enthusiastically. Additionally, the center plans to implement a “Carbon neutral campus model” at Fukae Campus, recovering evaporated hydrogen to supply electricity within the campus.

Once the individual basic technologies are completed, it will be important to implement them in society. Establishing technology alone is insufficient to realize a hydrogen society. While there is a move toward the popularization of fuel cell vehicles (FCVs), social movement is slow compared to technological progress, as evidenced by the lack of hydrogen stations.

The current center consists of three divisions: the Renewable Energy Technology Division, the Hydrogen Energy Technology Division and the Multi-Energy Technology Division. Takeda plans to add a division for social system evaluation technology research, as well as an open laboratory and international standardization promotion division. “Although the social infrastructure is not yet in place, once a mechanism is established through industry-academia collaboration, we can break the current impasse,” he asserts.

To accelerate these efforts, the center has set up the Industry-Government-Academia Collaboration Study Group of HyTec (IGAS-HyTec). Currently, about 80 members from industry, government and academia, including Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Hyogo Prefecture, are exchanging opinions and discussing how to conduct research and development and how to implement it in society. Another important theme is how to make proposals to the world for international standardization. Through these initiatives, the center aims to construct an industrial consortium and extend its efforts to society. Kawasaki Heavy Industries plans to scale up its liquid hydrogen tankers by 2030. Takeda says, “By this time, we should have a necessary framework in place.”

Everything in the past is the foundation for the future

Takeda is a graduate of the Kobe University of Mercantile Marine. The spirit of “always challenging new things” and “creating what we lack with our own hands,” has been passed down to Kobe University along with its research. The development of a helium liquefier was also started to prepare liquid helium on-site, which was difficult to procure at the time. Though some projects, like the ocean current MHD power generation, remained at the basic research stage, these studies laid the groundwork for subsequent advancements.

“How we produce, store, transport and utilize hydrogen, and how we optimize and manage these processes as a social system are crucial questions. As a research hub for green hydrogen (hydrogen produced without CO₂ emissions), we will work toward the realization of a carbon-neutral society from a comprehensive perspective with hydrogen as the keyword,” says Takeda, focusing on the future.

Resume

TAKEDA Minoru, Professor, Research Center for Hydrogen Energy Technology

Having graduated from the Kobe University of Mercantile Marine in 1984, he obtained a doctorate from the Osaka City University Graduate School of Science in 1993, and became a professor at Kobe University in 2006. He entered the Kobe University of Mercantile Marine with the intention of studying nuclear energy but was attracted by the fascination of low-temperature physics, and entered the world of superfluidity and superconductivity.

Kobe U magazine “Kaze”

• Click here for the Kobe U magazine “Kaze” Vol. 22 in which this article appeared (Japanese).
• Kobe U magazine “Kaze” (Japanese)