On April 11, 2013 I talked about how Honda was testing the powering of homes in Japan using its fuel cell vehicles. The idea was to be prepared for another national emergency like the 2011 Tsunami. But, in order to have cars that can be used as emergency power generators, you also have to have a place to refuel those cars.
So, Japan has now opened its first public hydrogen fueling station and it’s in the Kanagawa Prefecture. This is the first of at least 40 H2 fueling stations that Japan would like to open by 2015.
According to the Asahi Shimbun, “A joint project of JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp. and the government-affiliated New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization, the hydrogen station was opened next to a conventional gasoline station. Previously, hydrogen stations were only allowed in industrial areas where there are few private residences.
“The central government revised related laws last year to allow hydrogen stations in residential areas or places next to conventional gas stations to spread the use of environmentally friendly fuel cell vehicles.”
This H2 station, along with the other stations that make up the current Japanese Hydrogen Highway system, is located near Tokyo. It is expected, however, that at least a handful of the 40 future stations will be located north and south of the Japan’s main city.