By Masato Takamura / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. on Thursday cohosted a groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of a hydrogen terminal in the coastal area of Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture.

The Japanese heavy machinery manufacturer will construct the world's largest storage tank for liquefied hydrogen with a capacity of 50,000 cubic meters. After conducting verification tests to confirm safety, the company plans to begin supplying stored hydrogen to clients in Japan as early as in the fiscal year starting April 2030.

Kawasaki Heavy Industries will also set up equipment to transfer liquefied hydrogen from transport ships to the tank, and establish a base to transport liquefied hydrogen domestically.

Gaseous hydrogen becomes a liquid when cooled to minus 253 C, and its volume reduces by a factor of 800. The development of liquefied hydrogen storage facilities has been a key challenge for realizing a "hydrogen society." The planned storage tank will not require an external power supply for cooling due to the quality of its insulation, the company said.

The heavy machinery manufacturer is now working on building supply chains for hydrogen. The company plans to also construct a liquefied hydrogen tanker whose size will be among the biggest in the world.

"Demand for hydrogen is high also from the perspective of national security as it is an energy source that does not rely on specific regions," said Yasuhiko Hashimoto, president of Kawasaki Heavy Industries, on Thursday. "It is also a field in which Japan leads the world, so we want to make this project a success."

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This article is from The Yomiuri Shimbun. Neither Dow Jones Newswires, MarketWatch, Barron's nor The Wall Street Journal were involved in the creation of this content.

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November 28, 2025 02:15 ET (07:15 GMT)

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