Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) is requesting a higher budget for the April 2021-March 2022 fiscal year to fund projects that will support the transition toward greener energy. The proposed budget stood at ￥490.2 billion ($4.65 billion), representing a 15.2% increase from ¥425.7 billion allocated for this fiscal year. The figure accounts for 34.2% of the ministry’s total budget request of ¥1.4 trillion ($13.28 billion). The ministry argued that falling fossil fuel demand due to the coronavirus pandemic provided an opportunity to shift toward decarbonization.
The proposed budget includes ￥24.4 billion ($231.57 million) to phase out old coal power plants by 2030, which is 25.8% higher than the ongoing fiscal year. Minister Hiroshi Kajiyama in July called for plans to phase out old coal power plants by the end of this decade. The ministry is working on a pilot project to enable an ultra-supercritical coal power plant to burn 20% ammonia in 2023. The country is set to receive the world’s first cargo of blue ammonia shipped from Saudi Arabia. The ammonia will be burned in a mix with coal and gas to generate electricity.
METI also requested a ￥53 billion ($503.01 million) budget to develop carbon capture, utilization, storage, and recycling technology, 21.3% higher than the ongoing fiscal year. This includes a ￥6.53 billion ($61,97 million) budget to develop a pilot project in CO2 transportation. The ministry has also allocated ¥231 billion ($2.19 billion), up by 16.2%, to advance the development of renewable power and energy-saving technology. METI allocated ¥1.5 billion ($14.23 million) to promote the use of domestic woody biomass for power generation.
The proposed budget also includes ¥137.1 billion ($1.30 billion) for nuclear innovation and ¥84.8 billion ($804.81 million) to create a hydrogen-based society and, up by 5.5% and 21.1%, respectively, than this year’s budget. The ministry also increases its budget request by 8.4% to ¥125.6 billion ($1.19 billion) to secure natural resources, such as crude oil, natural gas, methane hydrates, and rare earth elements.
