Hydrogen law, regulations & strategy in Japan

Development of Hydrogen in Japan

Japan is one of the further advanced countries in relation to developing hydrogen projects and has the advantage of having a designated government policy supporting the uptake of hydrogen, coupled with a public acceptance of hydrogen projects in the domestic-energy mix.

Japan is now in the third wave of hydrogen production. The first wave was in the early 1990s, the second wave was in early 2000s, and the third wave started around the year 2015. In pursuit of finding a way to be independent from fossil fuel production in the Middle East and recognising Japan’s limited domestic energy resources as well as a desire to decarbonise its energy mix, Japan made a deliberate choice to develop a hydrogen-based society in the 1990s.

Significantly, in 2002, the Japanese government enacted the “Basic Act on Energy Policy” and has been formulating and updating a “Basic Energy Plan” every three years since its first publication. Subsequently, in 2008, the “Cool Earth - Energy Innovation Technology Plan” was announced to promote technological innovation and deregulation in the promotion of fuel cell vehicles (“FCV”) and hydrogen refuelling stations. In the 2000s, the Japanese government and industries focused on popularising FCV, with the view to stimulating a decrease in the price of FCV and improving the effectiveness of hydrogen refuelling stations.

In 2011, Japan was affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake and the nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, both resulting in an acceleration of the government’s efforts to move towards a hydrogen-based society. The government announced the “4th Strategic Energy Plan” which was substantially adjusted from the 3rd Strategic Energy Plan. In the same year, the government compiled the “Strategic Roadmap for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells” (the “Roadmap”) to implement the “4th Strategic Energy Plan”. The plans were further bolstered by the Paris Agreement in December 2015. As a result, 2015 is known as the “First Year of Hydrogen” in Japan.

Recent Efforts by Government

In 2017, the government formulated the “Basic Hydrogen Strategy” (the “Strategy”). Japan has set a long-term goal that, by 2050, CO₂ emissions will be reduced by 80 percent from 2013 levels; the Strategy sets out an action plan for the period up to 2030. In response to the “5th Strategic Energy Plan” formulated in 2018, the Roadmap was revised for the third time. Japan’s current hydrogen programme is based mainly on the Strategy and the latest Roadmap.

In October 2018, Japan held the world’s first “Hydrogen Energy Ministerial Meeting” (“HEM”) under the main theme of “Realisation of a Hydrogen-Based Society” and, as a result, the “Tokyo Statement” was released. In 2019, the second HEM was held, with approximately 600 participants from 35 countries, regions and organisations attending. The third HEM was held online on 14 October 2020 to share the efforts and progress of each country to realise the hydrogen-based society.

Japan has also entered into memorandums of agreement with New Zealand, Argentina, and the Netherlands, among others, regarding cooperation for the realisation of a hydrogen-based society. For example, in the memorandum which was entered into between Japan and New Zealand, both countries agreed to cooperate on the exchange of information and personnel, developing technology, and establishing an international supply chain, among other things.

In Q3 of 2020, Japan decided to take a significant step towards a decarbonised society. First, on 26 October, 2020, the government declared “Carbon Neutrality by 2050”. Following this, the government published the “Green Growth Strategy Through Achieving Carbon Neutrality in 2050” on 25 December 2020 (revised in June 2021), which states that Japan aims to introduce up to three million tonnes of hydrogen before 2030 and up to 20 million tonnes before 2050. The Act on Promotion of Global Warming Countermeasures was also revised on 26 May 2021 in response to the 2050 Carbon Neutral Declaration. On 21 July 2021, the draft of the 6th Strategic Energy Plan was published, which states that Japan aims to increase the percentage of renewable energy sources in its domestic energy mix from 22-24 percent to 36-38 percent for FY 2030, and includes hydrogen and ammonia as energy sources for the first time to account for one percent of all energy sources. The draft refers to the establishment of the international hydrogen supply chain, development of innovative hydrogen production technologies, reduction in the cost of hydrogen supply, and other specific measures.

Japan is now rapidly developing hydrogen power generators and establishing a hydrogen supply chain; it is a leader amongst industrialised nations on how to integrate hydrogen technologies into the energy, transport, and industrial sectors.

Supply Chain

In Japan, where natural resources are scarce, hydrogen is attracting attention as a low-carbon alternative to fossil fuels. To promote the utilisation of hydrogen, it is essential to reduce the cost for procuring and supplying hydrogen.

As a measure to reduce the cost of hydrogen supply, two methods are considered promising: one approach is combining low-cost unused energy from overseas with Carbon Capture and Storage (“CCS”), and the other is procuring a large amount of hydrogen from low-cost renewable energy overseas. To achieve this, the goal in the Strategy is to build a comprehensive international supply chain in the manufacture, storage, transport, and use of hydrogen. Specifically, Japan aims to procure approximately 300,000 tonnes of hydrogen per year at approximately 30 JP¥/Nm³ by around 2030, and in the future, to procure it at a reduced cost of 20 JP¥/Nm³.

Further, the above “Green Growth Strategy Through Achieving Carbon Neutrality in 2050” considers hydrogen to be a key technology for achieving carbon neutrality. It summarises future initiatives for; (i) hydrogen utilisation, (ii) transportation and storage of hydrogen (liquefied hydrogen carriers, etc.), and (iii) hydrogen production (water electrolysers, etc.).

In Japan, various pilots are being carried out to develop an international hydrogen supply chain. For example:

1. A project is underway to extract hydrogen from brown coal, of which there are large reserves in Australia, and liquefy it to transport it to Japan by sea. In December 2019, the world’s first liquefied hydrogen carrier “Suiso Frontier” was launched and will be utilised in a demonstration experiment where hydrogen produced in Australia will be transported to Japan by the end of March 2022. In Kobe, where the hydrogen will be received, a 2500m³ tank became operational in June 2020.
2. Another project is underway in Brunei to extract hydrogen (as methylcyclohexane (“MCH”)), using the organic hydride method from unused gas, and transport it to Japan. In December 2019, hydrogen produced in Brunei arrived in Japan for the first time. As such, the domestic policy agenda is to combine the surplus fossil fuels from overseas and use these to produce “blue” hydrogen – by capturing the carbon dioxide using CCUS technologies - alongside the establishment of international supply chains for Japan’s hydrogen.
3. In Japan, transportation of hydrogen in the form of (i) liquid hydrogen, (ii) MCH, and (iii) ammonia is expected. The transported hydrogen in the form of MCH is now used as fuel for thermal power plants. Currently, hydrogen, as an import, is undergoing verification testing and results of this study are expected in due course.

In anticipation of a large amount of renewable energy coming onto the grid in the coming years, attention is being focused on power to gas (“P2G”) technology, which uses electrical power (produced from renewable sources) to produce a gaseous fuel (hydrogen) and then store it. Improvement of water electrolysis technology is necessary for the commercialisation of P2G technology.

In March 2020, the world’s largest (10 MW) renewable hydrogen production facility “Fukushima Hydrogen Energy Research Field” (“FH2R”)” was opened in Namie Town, in the Fukushima Prefecture. FH2R has achieved positive results in demonstration experiments.

In addition to renewable energy, the administration of unused local resources, such as waste plastics and sewage sludge, is being considered as a low-carbon hydrogen supply source.

Transport

According to the Strategy, the goal is to have:

1. 40,000 FCVs by 2020, 200,000 FCVs by 2025 and 800,000 FCVs by 2030;
2. 100 fuel-cell buses by 2020 and 1200 fuel-cell buses by 2030; and
3. 500 fuel-cell forklifts by 2020 and 10,000 fuel-cell forklifts by 2030.

In addition, Japan is developing and commercialising fuel-cell trucks and shifting passenger vessels to fuel-cell powered vehicles. At the end of the 2019 financial year, 3,757 passenger FCVs were in use in Japan.

FCV Business policy of each Japanese car manufacturer:

1. In terms of passenger cars, Toyota Motor Corporation (“Toyota”) started lease sales of FCVs to Japanese government departments for business and industrial use, in December 2002. After years of further technical developments, Toyota began retail sales in December 2014 and released a brand-new model FCV in December 2020. 
2. In February 2021, Toyota announced its development of an FC module that packages a fuel-cell (FC) system into a compact module, and distribution of the FC modules starting from the spring of 2021. These modules are expected to be applied in FC products for various uses such as in mobility, including in trucks, buses, trains, and vessels, as well as in stationary generators.
3. Toyota is also carrying out research and development of a hydrogen vehicle (not an FCV, which is one model of EV, but a vehicle equipped with an internal combustion engine (“ICE”) fuelled by hydrogen in place of gasoline) and participated in a 24 hour endurance race with its hydrogen vehicle in May 2021.
4. By contrast, in June 2018, the corporate affiliation between Nissan Motor and Renault of France froze the commercialisation of FCVs that was being jointly developed with Daimler and Ford Motor. In December 2020, Honda started lease-only sales of its FCV on the same date as Toyota but declared in June 2021 that it would discontinue the production of FCVs at the end of 2021 due to poor sales. Honda will continue its joint development of FCVs with General Motors (GM) of the United States, but it will mainly focus on commercial cars, indicating that Honda will withdraw from the development of passenger FCVs.

Fuel-cell commercial cars

1. Due to poor sales of passenger FCVs, there is unlikely to be any new car manufacturers aiming to enter the Japanese FCV market with passenger cars. Popularisation of FCVs is likely to be limited to commercial vehicles such as buses and trucks running between fixed terminals.
2. As for fixed-route buses, Toyota first put a fuel cell hybrid vehicle (“FCHV”) into practical use in the 2000s. Fuel-cell buses were developed in the 2010s and mass-marketed for sale in March 2018. The metropolitan government of Tokyo, which engages in bus business in the city, has introduced 84 fuel-cell buses as of December 2020. There remains various hurdles to overcome, such as: high vehicle pricing (five times that of a conventional type of bus), improvement in performance, durability and reliability, cost reduction technology and establishment of mass production technology, reduction of operational costs, and deployment of stable filling facilities.
3. In January 2020, Honda and Isuzu Motors Ltd. agreed to conduct joint research on fuel cell trucks. In March 2020, Toyota and Hino Motors, Ltd. agreed to jointly develop a heavy-duty fuel cell truck, and to proceed with initiatives towards its practical use through verification tests and other means. Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation announced its vision to make all new vehicles for the Japanese market CO₂ neutral by the year 2039. In line with this vision, it aims to start the series production of fuel-cell trucks by the late 2020s. 
4. Toyota also announced, in June 2018, that together with Seven-Eleven Japan Co. Ltd., they will be conducting a joint project to reduce CO₂ emissions by introducing a newly developed small fuel cell truck in the distribution process, aiming to achieve zero emissions of substances of concern including CO₂.

Fuel-cell trains

JR East, the East Japan Railway Company, signed an agreement with Toyota in September 2018 for a comprehensive business partnership, focusing on the use of hydrogen, and has been cooperating with Toyota to introduce fuel cell technology to railway vehicles. JR East is aiming to complete a hybrid vehicle test car, that uses hydrogen as fuel, and is preparing to start a demonstration test on an operating route in 2021.

Fuel-cell vessels

As decarbonisation gains momentum, the efforts in the shipping industry to reduce greenhouse gases are also progressing. The draft Strategic Energy Plan states that Japan will promote technological development of zero emission vessels using alternative fuels such as hydrogen and ammonia, and aims to start demonstration experiments by 2025, achieve commercial operation of zero emission vessels earlier than its initial target of 2028, and bring about further popularisation of zero emission vessels in 2030.

Fuel-cell aircraft

In addition to electrification technology, hydrogen fuel looks set to be leveraged in the field of aviation in order to reduce carbon emissions.

Hydrogen power generation

The Strategy aims to commercialise hydrogen power generation by 2030. At present, the necessary conditions for introducing hydrogen co-combustion power generation into existing thermal power plants is being clarified. As for the hydrogen co-generation system, the aim is to achieve power generation efficiency of 27 percent by 2020-2021. As stated above, the draft 6th Strategic Energy Plan sets the percentage of hydrogen and ammonia in the energy mix at one percent for FY 2030.

However, to fully introduce hydrogen power generation, it will be necessary to reduce the cost of hydrogen procurement by developing a hydrogen supply chain. The government aims to decrease the cost of hydrogen for power generation to 30JPY/N㎥ by the time hydrogen power generation has been commercialised in 2030, and 20 JPY/N㎥ in 2050.

Fuel cells

Household fuel cells (solid oxide fuel cells (“SOFC”), known locally as “ENE-FARM”), were introduced to the market in 2009 before anywhere else in the world. ENE-FARM produces power and heat for use in the home, from hydrogen derived from city gas or liquefied petroleum gas (“LPG”) and oxygen derived from the air. At the end of January 2019, approximately 274,000 units were in use; the aim is to further reduce costs and 5.3 million units will be introduced by 2030.

As for industrial fuel cells, phosphoric acid fuel cells (“PAFC”) and SOFCs have respectively been on the market since 1998 and 2013, with 20 kW-class SOFCs expected to be put on the market soon. Currently, efforts are being made to increase power generation efficiency, and to reduce system prices and power generation costs by 2025.

Use at the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games

At the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games (“Tokyo 2020 Games”) held in the summer of 2021, for the first time in Olympic and Paralympic history, hydrogen was used as fuel for the torch and part of the torch relay. The hydrogen produced in the FH2R, mentioned above, was also used as fuel for the torch. Toyota provided approximately 500 FCVs for use in the Tokyo 2020 Games. As a worldwide partner of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, Toyota supported the Tokyo 2020 Games with its full suite of electric vehicles, including FCVs and fuel-cell buses. The operation of the Games was also supported by fuel-cell forklifts manufactured by Toyota Industries.

General

As described above, FCVs and fuel-cell trucks are already in use in the transportation sector. As of August 2021, there are 154 hydrogen refuelling stations in Japan. In addition, the household fuel cell ENE-FARM, is widely used due to a subsidy system from the government. However, in other fields, the hydrogen use in Japan has not yet reached commercial production or is still in the pilot stage.

Given that the current supply chain and power generation projects are mostly the pilots being led and subsided by the Japanese government, there has been limited private sector involvement so far. The scale of business of hydrogen mobility options is still small and would need to grow in order to attract more private sector investment. In the field of ENE-FARM, major electronic manufacturers and gas companies are involved, but thus far there has been limited M&A activity. Major companies procure finance through ordinary corporate finance and other products and services concerning hydrogen are still at the pre-commercial-stage. This is expected to change as the projects reach further stages of maturity.

Non-Fossil Fuel Energy Value Trading Market

In May 2018, the Non-Fossil Fuel Energy Value Trading Market was established at the Japan Electric Power Exchange (“JEPX”). This is a green certificates market where non-fossil fuel energy power producers sell “non-fossil fuel energy certificates”, which evidence to energy retailers in the market that electric power was generated without using fossil fuel sources. The certificates can be traded separately from actual electricity.

In 2021, the system was changed, the market was split into two, namely (i) a market for trading certificates to satisfy the obligations of the Act on Sophisticated Methods of Energy Supply Structures, and (ii) the Renewable Energy Value Trading Market. Market (i) trades only non-FIT, non-fossil fuel energy certificates (certificates of non-fossil fuel energy generated from sources other than FIT energy sources), which are sold to energy retailers. On the other hand, market (ii) only trades FIT non-fossil fuel energy certificates (certificates of non-fossil fuel energy generated from FIT energy sources), which may be sold not only to energy retailers, but also to consumers.  Trading for market (i) started  in the end of August 2021  and trading for market (ii) is scheduled to start from November 2021 . It is expected that hydrogen energy sources will be traded in market (i) in the future.

Supply chain issues 

At present, the cost of hydrogen at stations in Japan is approximately 100 JP¥/Nm³, which is relatively high. To improve this, it will be necessary to:

1. further study the development of an international supply chain to diversify procurement,
2. develop water electrolysis technology with higher efficiency and durability along with other technologies; and
3. expand domestic hydrogen demand.

Transport-related challenges

FCV vehicle prices

1. The number of components in FCVs is larger than in electric vehicles (“EV”), and the cost of individual devices and components is also high. In addition, production capacity is limited because it requires manual manufacturing by skilled workers. As of December 2015, only a few cars could be produced per day, unlike the significantly greater volumes that can be manufactured as ICE vehicles or EVs.
2. In the latest revision of the “Strategic Roadmap for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells” (the “2018 Roadmap”), the current price of a passenger car type FCV is priced in the seven million yen (¥7,000,000) range, which is three million yen (¥3,000,000) more expensive than a hybrid vehicle (“HV”). The price of a fixed-route bus is one hundred and fifty million yen (¥150,000,000).

To achieve the target use, the 2018 Roadmap aims to reduce the price difference between passenger car-type FCVs and HVs to seven hundred thousand yen (¥700,000) and to lower the price of fuel-cell buses to fifty two million, five hundred thousand yen (¥52,500,000) by 2025, by reducing the FCV system cost.

Running cost of FCVs

For HVs and plug-in hybrid cars (“PHV”), consumers can benefit from the low cost of energy compared to ICE vehicles. FCVs have almost the same cruising range as petrol cars, but the cost of hydrogen fuel is more expensive than petrol, so its value is not directly visible to consumers. Therefore, the popularisation of FCVs is closely related to the reduction of hydrogen production cost.

Hydrogen stations

The lack of refuelling infrastructure will prevent the popularisation of FCVs. This, in turn, deters vehicle manufacturers from introducing new passenger FCVs.  The draft Strategic Energy Plan, in view of the popularisation of fuel-cell cars, buses, and trucks, seeks to create 1,000 hydrogen stations by 2030 at optimal locations, taking into consideration the flow of people and logistics, tackle regulatory reform, and create hydrogen stations for commercial vehicles such as buses and trucks, including refuelling facilities dedicated for certain business places.

Hydrogen aircraft

In September 2020, Airbus announced its goal to introduce hydrogen aircraft by 2035. Japanese airlines are also expected to promote development of core technologies such as liquefied hydrogen storage tanks and engine combustors for hydrogen aircraft that will be necessary for introducing hydrogen aircraft after 2035. In August 2021, the government also started discussions with private companies towards the improvement of airport facilities for storing hydrogen and refuelling aircraft with hydrogen.

Low carbon hydrogen

Japan aims to use “green” hydrogen in power generation and other industrial uses of hydrogen in the future. At present, the government is examining the replacement of existing fuels and raw materials with green hydrogen and the associated costs for various industrial processes.

The combination with CCS is necessary in order to produce “blue” hydrogen from coal or natural gas, and a large-scale demonstration experiment of CCS has been conducted in Tomakomai, Hokkaido since 2012. This verified that the technology can be put into practice by 2020. The government aims to commercialize the technology by 2030.

In addition, to promote the uptake of green hydrogen, the construction of a scheme to enable trading of the environmental value of hydrogen is being considered. For example, the utilisation of the existing “J-credit Scheme” (the system used for certifying the reduction and absorption of greenhouse gas emissions) and the “Act on the Rational Use of Energy” are under consideration. Utilisation of the “Non-fossil Fuel Energy Value Trading Market”, described above, is also expected as a promising option.

Current status of hydrogen regulations

There are no laws specific to the use of hydrogen yet. Currently, hydrogen is regulated as a type of high-pressure gas. With respect to hydrogen gas, the High Pressure Gas Safety Act, which regulates the safety of high pressure gas, plays a central role. For example, in order to manufacture and/or store hydrogen, permission from or notification to the prefectural governor is required, with specific requirements being based on the amount of production and/or storage.

In addition, hydrogen must be transported in a manner that meets the technical standards stipulated in the High Pressure Gas Safety Act. However, various regulations such as construction-related regulations and environmental regulations are also applicable. Major regulations are discussed below.

Manufacturing and storage regulations

The installation of hydrogen production and storage facilities is subject to various strict safety regulations due to the flammable nature of hydrogen.

1. The High Pressure Gas Safety Act requires permission from, or notification to, prefectural governors depending on the processing capacity of hydrogen production facilities and storage facilities.
2. The Ministerial Ordinance on the Arrangement of Facility Districts for New Business Facilities etc. in Special Disaster Prevention Areas of Petroleum Industrial Complexes, etc. stipulates that, when hydrogen production facilities, for example, are to be established, they must be divided into production facility districts, storage facility districts, incoming and outgoing facility districts. It is also stipulated that a road of a specified width must be interposed, in accordance with the area of production facility districts and storage facility districts.
3. The Regulation on Safety of General High Pressure Gas provides technical regulations to ensure that hydrogen is not retained in the rooms where hydrogen production facilities, storage containers and consumption facilities are installed, in case of hydrogen leakage.
4. The Regulation on Safety of General High Pressure Gas sets detailed regulations on the temperature and the location of storage containers in relation to their storage.

Environmental and health regulations

Since reformers for hydrogen production and fuel cells are regarded as gas generators, notification to local governments and the periodic measurement of soot, smoke and NOx are required under the Regulation for Enforcement of the Air Pollution Control Act.

Under the Noise Regulation Act and the Vibration Regulation Act, if a facility installed at a factory or workplace is classified as a specified facility that generates significant noise and vibration, an application must be submitted to the relevant local government. In addition, since the regulation criteria differs for each municipality, it is necessary to confirm the local criteria.

Regulations concerning transportation of hydrogen

Transportation of hydrogen gas by truck, tank lorry, etc., is subject to the High Pressure Gas Safety Act, the Road Vehicle Act and other regulations which stipulate technical standards, such as vehicle loading methods, transportation methods and safety measures for containers.

The Road Act prohibits or restricts the passage of vehicles loaded with dangerous substances having explosive or flammable qualities in underwater tunnels.

Regulations concerning hydrogen stations

Hydrogen refuelling stations play an important role in the use and popularisation of hydrogen vehicles. Regulations on the installation of hydrogen stations are outlined below:

1. The technical standards for hydrogen refuelling stations are, essentially, in line with those applicable to high pressure gas production facilities under the High Pressure Gas Safety Act. However, more stringent technical standards are included to protect consumers.
2. The Building Standards Act limits the areas where hydrogen refuelling stations can be installed.
3. Rules on dangerous goods regulate the location and structure of equipment installed in hydrogen refuelling stations, such as compressors, accumulators and dispensers.
4. When a hydrogen refuelling station is installed at a gas station, it is necessary to comply with the safety measures prescribed in the Fire Services Act and the High Pressure Gas Safety Act.

The government is tackling deregulation for hydrogen stations for the popularisation of hydrogen cars, and by August 2020, it had revised related ministerial orders to allow unmanned operation of hydrogen stations through remote monitoring, and is proceeding with deregulation to promote the improvement of hydrogen stations.

Supply chain studies

The feasibility studies of supply chains from Russia, South America and the Middle East is underway, in addition to Australia and Brunei where demonstration experiments are ongoing.

Construction of hydrogen society model areas

“Fukushima New Energy Society Initiative”: the Fukushima Prefecture suffered great damage from the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, as well as from the subsequent tsunami and nuclear power plant accident. In the Fukushima Prefecture, a project named “Fukushima New Energy Society Initiative” is underway to create a model for a new energy society. One of the aims of this plan is the utilisation of hydrogen derived from renewable energy. The hydrogen produced in the Fukushima Hydrogen Energy Research Field is utilised in various hydrogen mobility and factories, in order to build an integrated supply chain in the Fukushima Prefecture and build a model area for a hydrogen-based society. The hydrogen produced here was used for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, in 2021.

“Smart City Kobe Initiative”: Kobe City aims to build a large-scale hydrogen energy supply chain that uses overseas unused energy to produce, store, and transport (by sea) liquefied hydrogen, to be discharged at Kobe Port for transportation and use. The Demonstration Project for Establishment of Mass Hydrogen Marine Transportation Supply Chain Derived from Unused Brown Coal, described above, is part of this initiative. Electricity and heat generated from a hydrogen power generation system, that uses a gas turbine fueled by hydrogen, will be supplied to neighbouring public facilities.

Initiatives in the Aichi Prefecture: Since 2019, 10 private companies, including energy, petrochemical and automobile companies, have been studying the possibility of large-scale hydrogen utilisation in the Chubu region, and established the “Chubu Region Hydrogen Utilization Council” in March 2020 in cooperation with the Aichi Prefecture.

Transportation Landscape

The Japanese government positioned FCVs as key to popularising hydrogen in Japan. However, in the automobile industry the uptake of FCVs has not progressed as expected.

Nevertheless, as global automotive demand switches from ICE to fuel-cell vehicles, hydrogen power vehicles may have a great role. This will be particularly true where there are requirements that are difficult to satisfy through the use of existing lithium ion secondary batteries, for example forklifts used in warehouses where exhaust fumes cannot be emitted, and drones.

The Railway Technical Research Institute is also considering resuming the development of fuel-cell trains that began in the 2000s but which did not attract enough attention at that time in Japan.