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The H2 Hydrogen Home is designed with solar panels, which will power the project's home on sunny days and also provide excess electricity that will be stored for night use and cloudy days. Some of that extra electricity will charge a home battery for short-term energy storage. The rest of the solar power will be converted to clean hydrogen using an electrolyzer and stored until needed. That stored hydrogen will also be converted back to electricity with an on-site fuel cell. And finally, the hydrogen will be blended with natural gas and used in the home's heat pump HVAC unit, water heater, clothes dryer, and gas stove.

The government will provide 2 trillion yen ($19 billion) of funds to support efforts to make hydrogen viable as a fuel for electricity generators that burn without emissions, the Nikkei reported, without citing the source of its information.

The California Energy Commission (CEC) approved a plan today that will invest up to $115 million to significantly increase the number of fueling stations in the state that support hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs). The funding nearly doubles the state’s investments to date and will help California nearly achieve its goal to deploy 200 public hydrogen fueling stations. Under the plan, up to 111 new hydrogen fueling stations will be built in the state by 2027, including many designed for multi-use by passenger vehicles, trucks and buses. Total project funding is subject to annual approval of both the state budget and allocations from the CEC. During today’s business meeting, commissioners awarded three grants totaling nearly $25 million for the installation of the first 30 stations under the plan. More than half of the stations approved today will be built in or near disadvantaged communities. Irvine-based FirstElement Fuel, Inc., received $15.5 million. San Francisco-based Equilon Enterprises (doing business as Shell Oil Products U.S.) received $7.3 million, and the Santa Clara-based Iwatani Corporation of America, received $1.9 million. Will the stations approved today support medium-and heavy-duty hydrogen fuel cell vehicles? FirstElement Fuel -- Five stations (in subsequent batches) will be designed specifically as dual-purpose stations that can fill heavy-duty vehicles in separate area to light-duty vehicles. Shell -- Some stations in the next batch will serve nearby tethered fleets. Iwatani -- Will look for opportunities to serve medium-duty and heavy-duty vehicles in the next funding batch.

Toyota's next generation fuel cell electric technology is now powering a new set of Class 8 heavy-duty trucks. Using the same fuel cell system as the all-new 2021 Mirai sedan that goes on sale this month, the engineers at Toyota Motor North America Research and Development have developed a set of production-intent prototype trucks that are being prepared to run drayage routes at the ports of L.A. and Long Beach to validate their performance, efficiency and drivability. Designed to be flexible enough to meet the needs of a wide variety of OEM truck makers, the new fuel cell electric system in the latest prototypes has been adapted to a Kenworth T680 chassis. A more compact hydrogen storage cabinet behind the cab houses six hydrogen tanks with the same capacity as previous prototypes while a new, more powerful lithium-ion battery helps smooth out the power flow to the electric motors. In this configuration, the second generation fuel cell system delivers over 300 miles of range at a full load weight of 80,000 lbs., all while demonstrating exceptional drivability, quiet operation, and zero harmful emissions.

"Our country needs a source of growth post-coronavirus," he said. "The core of that will be green and digital." Suga vowed to boost the economy through green investment and digital innovation. The fund would "continue to support companies engaged in ambitious innovation [in environmental areas] for the next 10 years," he pledged. "We see hydrogen, of which there is inexhaustible deposits, as a new power source," Suga said. "We will create hydrogen airplanes and hydrogen cargo ships."

That uncertainty could drive wildly different outcomes. If existing capacity is low and learning rates are high, green hydrogen may revolutionize energy as dramatically as wind, solar and batteries have done. If existing capacity is high and learning rates are low, investors might give up on the technology long before it’s able to scale up.