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Japan is clinging to hydrogen like a drowning man to driftwood. About 80% of Japan's energy is imported coal and natural gas. Their electric grid is a bonkers

Japan is clinging to hydrogen like a drowning man to driftwood. About 80% of Japan's energy is imported coal and natural gas. Their electric grid is a bonkers mix of 50Hz and 60Hz single-phase. Hydrogen is the only viable solution for them and even that's not going too well despite lofty goals. They can't build the tech and infrastructure alone and the rest of the world just isn't as enthusiastic on H2.

jbm 3y ago
The 50Hz and 60Hz is an accident of history and neatly splits the country in half. It's not a problem.
- VBprogrammer 3y ago
  Their domestic voltage is also 100v. I've never thought about it before but it does seem like that might pose some challenges in electrifying their road transportation. 240v is considerably more useful when you are trying to suck down 7kw or more.
  - jbm 3y ago
    Now that you mention it, the electric connection in my home in Tokyo was much worse than the one I have in Calgary. They might have connections of 60 amps [1] or less where I lived (whereas my home in Calgary has a 100 amp connection which can be upgraded to 200 if I paid for it) [1] Found this here (https://www4.tepco.co.jp/en/customer/guide/moving-e.html https://www4.tepco.co.jp/en/customer/guide/moving-e.html), I don't recall what exactly it was where I lived.
- theshrike79 3y ago
  It is a problem, because there's limited capacity to move electricity between the systems. You can just plug them together, they have essentially two separate grids.
  - earthboundkid 3y ago
    I think it would be a problem if they had ten tiny grids, but is two decently sized grids that are in roughly the same time zone (so peak solar doesn’t need to go from A to B) a big deal?
    - fomine3 3y ago
      It was a huge problem when earthquake stopped many power plants in east area.
    - theshrike79 3y ago
      It is when a 1500MW nuclear power plant built in area A is essentially useless for anyone in area B. Yes, you can transform from 50Hz to 60Hz, but the capacity is limited and can't be grown infinitely.

jbm 3y ago

The 50Hz and 60Hz is an accident of history and neatly splits the country in half. It's not a problem.

VBprogrammer 3y ago
Their domestic voltage is also 100v. I've never thought about it before but it does seem like that might pose some challenges in electrifying their road transportation. 240v is considerably more useful when you are trying to suck down 7kw or more.
- jbm 3y ago
  Now that you mention it, the electric connection in my home in Tokyo was much worse than the one I have in Calgary. They might have connections of 60 amps [1] or less where I lived (whereas my home in Calgary has a 100 amp connection which can be upgraded to 200 if I paid for it) [1] Found this here (https://www4.tepco.co.jp/en/customer/guide/moving-e.html https://www4.tepco.co.jp/en/customer/guide/moving-e.html), I don't recall what exactly it was where I lived.
theshrike79 3y ago
It is a problem, because there's limited capacity to move electricity between the systems. You can just plug them together, they have essentially two separate grids.
- earthboundkid 3y ago
  I think it would be a problem if they had ten tiny grids, but is two decently sized grids that are in roughly the same time zone (so peak solar doesn’t need to go from A to B) a big deal?
  - fomine3 3y ago
    It was a huge problem when earthquake stopped many power plants in east area.
  - theshrike79 3y ago
    It is when a 1500MW nuclear power plant built in area A is essentially useless for anyone in area B. Yes, you can transform from 50Hz to 60Hz, but the capacity is limited and can't be grown infinitely.