Japanese Town Turns Cow Manure into Clean Hydrogen Fuel, Reports BBC
In a small town in Japan, something smelly is being turned into something amazing: clean energy. A farm in Hokkaido, Japan’s northern island, is transforming cow manure into hydrogen fuel, which can power cars, tractors, and even heat homes.
According to the BBC, Hokkaido is home to over a million cows, which produce more than half of Japan’s milk and dairy products. But all those cows also create a lot of manure—around 20 million tonnes every year. If not handled properly, cow waste can harm the environment by releasing methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, and polluting water.
The Shikaoi Hydrogen Farm, launched in 2015, is tackling this problem by turning cow manure into hydrogen. Here’s how it works: cow waste is collected from local farms and fed into a machine called an anaerobic digester. Bacteria break down the waste, producing biogas, which is then purified into methane. The methane is used to create hydrogen through a process called steam reforming.
Hydrogen is a clean fuel because it doesn’t release carbon when burned. The farm’s hydrogen is used to power vehicles like tractors and forklifts, which are hard to run on batteries. It’s also stored in canisters and sent to nearby places, like a fish farm and a zoo, to provide heat and power.
The project is part of a circular economy, where waste from one industry becomes fuel for another. Maiko Abe from Air Water, one of the companies involved, says the process is sustainable because the carbon in cow manure originally came from grass the cows ate, making it carbon neutral.
However, there are challenges. Producing and storing hydrogen requires a lot of energy and infrastructure. Hydrogen is also tricky to handle because it can leak easily and needs to be stored at very high pressures or extremely cold temperatures.
Despite these hurdles, the project is a step forward in clean energy. The farm’s hydrogen is currently subsidized to match the cost of petrol, making it more affordable for locals. The hope is that as more people use hydrogen-powered vehicles, the costs will come down.
This isn’t the only example of waste being turned into energy in Japan. In Fukuoka, a city in southern Japan, human waste from sewage treatment plants is being converted into hydrogen to fuel garbage trucks and other vehicles.
The BBC reports that similar projects are popping up around the world, using waste like pig dung, chicken manure, and even coconut husks to produce hydrogen. While these technologies are still in their early stages, they show how waste can be turned into a valuable resource.
These projects highlight Japan’s innovative approach to clean energy and sustainability. By reimagining waste as fuel, they’re not only reducing pollution but also creating a model that could be adapted in other parts of the world.
Credit: This story is based on reporting by the BBC.
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20250314-how-japan-is-turning-cow-manure-into-hydrogen