Japanese utility giant JERA and automotive technology firm DENSO have begun Japan’s first demonstration of hydrogen production using solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC) systems at JERA’s Shin-Nagoya Thermal Power Station in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, a 3,058 MW combined-cycle LNG facility.
The demonstration tests 200-kW SOEC water electrolysis systems developed by DENSO with the key aim of achieving “hydrogen production with the world’s highest-level electrolysis efficiency by applying DENSO’s heat-management technology to minimize the heat discharged by the SOECs”.
The project represents Japan’s first attempt to integrate hydrogen production within thermal power infrastructure as utilities seek new revenue streams while advancing decarbonization goals.
