Japan’s HESC abandons plan to import from Australia
Supply chain project switches to domestically produced hydrogen amid concerns over timing of Australian development
The Hydrogen Energy Supply Chain (HESC) project, which initially planned to ship coal-derived blue hydrogen from Australia to Japan, will now source domestically produced hydrogen instead. Japan Suiso Energy (JSE)—a joint venture (JV) between Japanese multinational Kawasaki Heavy Industries and industrial gases company Iwatani Corporation, and a key partner in HESC—will now conduct its commercial demonstration phase entirely in Japan. “This change is to remain aligned with the condition of the Japanese Government Green Innovation Fund that the commercial demonstration phase must be completed by end of Japanese fiscal year 2030,” a spokesperson for HESC told Hydrogen Economist. “The com
Also in this section
9 March 2026
Hydrogen has not stalled in the UK because the technology does not work. The problem is that the system around it does not yet move at the speed required
4 March 2026
Turmoil in Middle East reminds nascent clean hydrogen sector that its future prospects are dependent on global energy markets and geopolitics
25 February 2026
Low-carbon hydrogen and ammonia development is advancing much more slowly and unevenly than once expected, with high costs and policy uncertainty thinning investment. Meanwhile, surging energy demand is reinforcing the role of natural gas and LNG as the backbone of the global energy system, panellists at LNG2026 said
18 February 2026
Norwegian energy company has dropped a major hydrogen project and paused its CCS expansion plans as demand fails to materialise






