Yamanashi Builds a Green Hydrogen Supply Chain From Solar Power to Factory Heat

A 16 megawatt project puts factory heat at the center

A 16 megawatt hydrogen installation at Suntory's Hakushu sites is becoming a central test of Yamanashi Prefecture's effort to connect renewable electricity with industrial heat. The project brings together the Hakushu Distillery, the Minami Alps Hakushu Water Plant, local government and energy technology companies in a region at the foot of Mt. Fuji.

As of September 29, 2025, the project's stated schedule calls for operations to begin in 2025, followed by a broader hydrogen production, distribution and sales business from 2027. Suntory plans to use the gas for heat sterilization and trial whisky distillation, while a logistics partnership with Tomoe Shokai would extend deliveries within Yamanashi and to Tokyo.

The prefecture's wider ambition reaches beyond beverages. Automobile and engine makers, tire producers and machine tool manufacturers are beginning to include hydrogen in their energy mix. Yamanashi offers strong solar irradiation, energy research facilities and collaboration between government and businesses, giving companies a place to test equipment under real operating conditions before expanding its use.

The Yamanashi Hydrogen Energy Society (H2-YES), a joint venture connecting the prefecture with companies, helps coordinate demonstrations and secure anchor customers. These customers provide an initial market for hydrogen while the production and delivery system develops.

How renewable electricity becomes a stored fuel

Yamanashi's Power to Gas system, usually shortened to P2G, uses electricity from renewable sources to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. Its solid polymer water electrolysis technology provides the equipment for that conversion. When solar generation is strong, surplus electricity can feed the electrolyser instead of being used immediately.

Hydrogen can then be compressed or liquefied and kept in tanks. It can travel by truck, move through pipes over short distances, or be converted back into electricity and heat. This gives solar energy another route to factories, warehouses and local communities, including during periods when the sun is unavailable.

The Yamanashi Model P2G technology was developed jointly by Yamanashi Prefecture, Toray Industries, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings and Takaoka Toko. The work has support from Japan's Green Innovation Fund and research commissioned by NEDO, the national research and development agency.

The 16 megawatt installation being built at Hakushu is based on that system. Renewable electricity and local water are intended to supply its hydrogen production, with the resulting gas emitting no greenhouse gases when used.

What Suntory plans to change at Hakushu

Suntory Holdings signed a basic agreement with Yamanashi Prefecture in September 2022 to decarbonize the Hakushu Distillery and the Minami Alps Hakushu Water Plant. Producing green hydrogen on site is the centerpiece of that agreement, with the gas intended to replace fossil fuels as a source of heat for plant operations.

Suntory's official project overview sets out the partnership behind the plan. The first phase is intended to supply hydrogen to boilers used for heat sterilization and support trial distillation at Hakushu, including experiments with direct fire whisky distillation.

Heat sterilization and distillation give the project concrete industrial tasks. The water plant needs heat for its operations, while the distillery offers a setting to test hydrogen in whisky production. Suntory also intends to share hydrogen supplies with the surrounding community.

From 2027, the company plans to work across the full green hydrogen value chain in Japan. That means producing the gas, arranging its distribution and selling it to customers. Tomoe Shokai is the logistics partner expected to support deliveries in Yamanashi and to Tokyo.

Suntory is studying further uses at the Chita Distillery in Aichi and the Takasago Plant in Hyogo. The domestic push follows a planned hydrogen project linked to a distillery in the United Kingdom that did not advance, prompting resources to shift toward deployment in Japan. Yamanashi's policy support and local partnerships provide a route from renewable electricity to hydrogen production and its use for heat and power.

The dates behind the hydrogen rollout

Yamanashi's present projects grew out of decisions stretching back more than three decades. The main stages connect land development, solar generation, hydrogen research and industrial deployment.

• Early 1990s: Komekurayama was planned as a site to attract companies. After the bubble economy burst, the land became a platform for large solar arrays.
• 2021: The prefecture launched a P2G initiative to turn surplus solar electricity into hydrogen.
• September 2022: Suntory Holdings and Yamanashi signed their basic agreement for the Hakushu facilities.
• November 22, 2023: Yamanashi and JERA signed a basic agreement to develop a regional hydrogen value chain.
• 2025: Suntory's stated schedule calls for the Hakushu hydrogen installation to begin operating.
• 2027: Suntory plans to expand into hydrogen production, distribution and sales.

No exact starting date or confirmation of the Hakushu installation entering service was given in the project's stated timetable.

JERA's test of carbon free power around the clock

JERA, Japan's largest power producer by generation share, generates about 30 percent of the country's electricity. Its November 22, 2023 agreement with Yamanashi seeks to connect the prefecture's P2G technology with JERA's fuel supply network and power assets.

The JERA partnership overview describes collaboration toward stable production and supply of carbon free electricity and hydrogen based fuels. JERA aims to combine renewable sources with zero emission thermal power using hydrogen and ammonia.

New hydrogen power generation facilities are planned for Mt. Komekura, with demonstration tests intended to supply local businesses. The target is continuous carbon free electricity: solar generation would provide power when available, while turbines fueled by hydrogen or fuel cells would supply electricity after sunset or when clouds reduce solar output.

For factories that need electricity at all hours, the practical test is whether these different parts can operate as a dependable system. A successful demonstration at the prefectural scale would provide a template for industrial users seeking steady power without fossil fuels.

How Komekurayama became a research hub

Komekurayama, in Kofu, hosts one of Japan's most mature solar power clusters and a research village devoted to the next generation of energy systems. Its development into an energy hub followed the early plans to attract companies and the subsequent construction of large solar arrays in partnership with Tokyo Electric Power Company.

By 2021, the prefecture had launched its initiative to convert surplus solar electricity into hydrogen using solid polymer water electrolysis. Early systems liquefied the hydrogen, stored it on site in specialized tanks and moved it by trailer to users. Shops using fuel cells for backup electricity and power during periods of peak demand were among the applications.

Prefectural leaders have backed pilot programs linking daytime solar generation with storage over longer periods and industrial heat. The research hub therefore connects several tasks: making hydrogen, keeping it until needed, transporting it and testing its use outside the production site.

The next step is to draw certified renewable electricity through the standard grid mix, including hydro, wind and geothermal sources, rather than relying on a single solar feed. Producing hydrogen when needed at the place of use can reduce storage requirements and transport costs, helping improve its cost.

Factories and heavy vehicles broaden the market

Suntory's Hakushu facilities are the prefecture's anchor customer, but the potential market extends to other industries. Tire manufacturers have begun experimenting with hydrogen production on site for process heat and combined heat and power, which means producing useful heat and electricity together.

Automobile manufacturers, engine makers and machine tool companies are also part of the wider movement toward hydrogen use. Engineers in Yamanashi are studying applications beyond heat and electricity, including green hydrogen for semiconductor process cleaning in place of helium.

Heavy vehicles provide another possible source of demand. Japan's national government has supported fuel cells for these vehicles, including funding for automotive manufacturers to expand fuel cell production capacity. Several programs target trucks powered by hydrogen.

Those trucks could refuel at depots during hours of low demand, using green hydrogen produced when renewable electricity is plentiful. The transport programs align with Japan's commitment to carbon neutrality by 2050 and its effort to reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels. They also connect vehicle demand with the same question facing factories: how to produce and deliver hydrogen at a workable cost.

What the electricity figures mean for production

Electrolysis requires substantial electricity. Producing one kilogram of hydrogen typically takes about 50 to 55 kilowatt hours, with further energy needed to compress or liquefy the gas for storage and transport.

A 16 megawatt electrolyser running at full power for 24 hours would consume 384 megawatt hours of electricity. Using the stated electricity requirement of 50 to 55 kilowatt hours per kilogram, that works out to roughly 7 to 8 metric tons of hydrogen a day.

Actual production depends on operating hours, maintenance and the amount of renewable electricity available. Yamanashi's strategy combines solar generation on site, renewable electricity obtained through the grid and storage so production can take place when electricity is clean and inexpensive.

Japan's wholesale electricity prices and grid charges can be high, and these costs have constrained previous hydrogen pilots. Using solar electricity that might otherwise be curtailed, meaning generation would be reduced because it could not be used, can lower the production cost. Shifting operation to periods of low demand can also help.

More efficient electrolysers and larger production volumes offer further ways to reduce the price over time. The economic task is to bring together affordable electricity, reliable equipment and enough customers to support a regular supply business.

Water and safety remain practical responsibilities

Electrolysis consumes nearly nine liters of water for each kilogram of hydrogen, with additional water required for purification. The Hakushu area is known for the high quality groundwater used in beverages, making resource management and recycling important parts of the hydrogen project.

At the illustrative production rate of 7 to 8 metric tons a day, the stated water requirement would amount to approximately 63,000 to 72,000 liters daily before additional purification needs. Actual consumption would follow the installation's real production level.

Hydrogen handling also requires ventilation, leak detection and staff training. Its flammability can generate community concerns, as public debates over proposed projects abroad have shown. Outreach and rigorous design standards are essential parts of putting production, storage and delivery systems into operation.

Hakushu's plans bring these responsibilities into an established beverage production area. Managing water use and operating safely are therefore part of the same work as developing equipment and finding customers for the gas.

Can a regional system reach Tokyo and beyond?

Yamanashi's model is regional by design. It connects local renewable resources, electrolysis, storage and end users through a short supply chain. Producing hydrogen close to customers can reduce the need to move and store it, while deliveries to Tokyo would connect the prefecture with a major demand center.

Suntory's planned distribution business and JERA's electricity demonstration test different parts of that model. One focuses on making and delivering a fuel for industrial use. The other aims to show that renewable generation and hydrogen can work together to supply electricity continuously.

International delegations have already visited Yamanashi's research hubs and industrial pilots. Their visits have included fuel cell vehicles, research laboratories and production plants. Some regions are planning centers of excellence for green hydrogen using lessons from Japan.

Knowledge shared through those visits, together with national policy support, gives the prefecture's experiments a reach beyond its borders. Within Japan, the next stages are the stated 2025 operating target at Hakushu, the planned expansion into distribution and sales from 2027, and the demonstrations intended to supply local businesses with carbon free electricity around the clock.

What to Know

• Yamanashi is linking renewable electricity, hydrogen production, storage and industrial customers in a regional testing ground.
• Suntory's 16 megawatt Hakushu installation is scheduled to begin operating in 2025, supplying heat sterilization and trial whisky distillation.
• Suntory plans hydrogen production, distribution and sales from 2027, with Tomoe Shokai supporting deliveries within Yamanashi and to Tokyo.
• JERA and Yamanashi agreed in November 2023 to develop a regional hydrogen value chain and test continuous carbon free electricity.
• Komekurayama connects a mature solar cluster with research into hydrogen production, storage, transport and use.
• Tire manufacturing, semiconductor process cleaning and trucks powered by hydrogen are among the industrial and transport applications being explored.
• A 16 megawatt electrolyser operating at full power all day could produce roughly 7 to 8 metric tons of hydrogen, depending on electricity use per kilogram.
• Electricity prices, grid charges, water management, storage, delivery and safety remain central to making the projects work.