Kawasaki Heavy Industries President Hashimoto (center), Kansai Electric Power Co. President Mori (second from the right), and Toyota Motor Corporation Yamagata Hydrogen Factory President (right) signed the memorandum (Osaka, 15th).

 

 

 

 

• Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Toyota, Kansai Electric, Daimler Trucks, and the Port of Hamburg authority sign MoU to build a binational hydrogen supply chain.

• The deal targets cross-sector use of hydrogen across mobility, logistics, and power—but high costs still loom over commercial rollout.

 

 

 

 

A new international hydrogen corridor is taking shape following a memorandum of understanding signed on September 15 in Osaka. The agreement, penned during the Hydrogen Energy Ministerial Conference, brings together Japanese heavyweights Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Toyota, and Kansai Electric Power with German players Daimler Trucks and the Port of Hamburg’s management body. Their goal: create a cost-effective, cross-border hydrogen supply network linking production, transport, and end-use in mobility and industry.

Details remain to be ironed out, but the ambition is clear—integrate liquefied hydrogen transport infrastructure (led by Kawasaki), hydrogen-powered vehicle fleets (via Toyota and Daimler), and port and logistics hubs in Hamburg and Osaka. Kawasaki president Yasuhiko Hashimoto said the partners will “bring together companies with a strong commitment to using hydrogen in various industrial sectors, such as ports, logistics, mobility including commercial vehicles, and power generation.” The group is targeting nothing short of a full-fledged international hydrogen corridor.

However, as ever, economics remain the sticking point. Hydrogen’s high cost continues to obstruct widespread uptake. Kawasaki—which developed the world’s first commercial liquefied hydrogen carrier—is betting on scale and sectoral demand aggregation to drive down costs. But without detailed infrastructure timelines or binding offtake agreements, this remains a strategic bet on long-term industrial alignment between Japan and Germany.

 

 

Источник: https://liberty-gazete.com/component/k2/item/215437