Hydrogen is an alternative energy source to petroleum. Hydrogen-powered trains have begun operating in the EU. A hydrogen fuel cell train, which began commercial operation in Germany in 2018, ran near Frankfurt. At the time, the hydrogen fuel used in the hydrogen trains was produced for industrial use. This was known as gray hydrogen. Industrial hydrogen fuel was said to reduce the environmental impact by 50%. There was also a perception that gray hydrogen was not truly environmentally friendly. This project aims to run trains on green hydrogen produced from renewable energy. The goal is not a 50% reduction, but a 100% reduction.
Challenges with hydrogen include storage, transportation, and the risk of explosion. A famous hydrogen explosion occurred in Manchester Township, New Jersey, USA, in May 1937. In this accident, 36 people were killed and many passengers were seriously injured. Hydrogen will continue to be used as a fuel, but it must be handled with care. People avoid risk and seek comfort. Ammonia is a substance that offsets the risks of hydrogen. The global production of ammonia is approximately 200 million tons per year. This 200 million tons is roughly the same scale as ethylene, the main raw material for plastic. Approximately 80% of ammonia production is used for chemical fertilizer.
When there is a problem, challengers emerge to solve it. Hydrogen poses challenges in transportation and storage. However, ammonia can be liquefied with a little cooling and pressure, making it easy to store and transport. Research has been published on the synthesis of ammonia from familiar sources such as air and water. The necessary substances are mixed in a chemical reaction between nitrogen, which is abundant in air, and water. Ammonia is produced when light is shone on the mixture. This method produces ammonia at room temperature and pressure by mixing nitrogen with the necessary substances and shining light on it. Professor Yoshiaki Nishibayashi of the Graduate School of Engineering at the University of Tokyo and his colleagues published a report on the synthesis of ammonia. This is the world’s first case (by a research group) of creating ammonia from nitrogen, water, and light. The results were published in the British scientific journal Nature Communications in May 2025. Ammonia has become one of the world’s most popular chemical raw materials. It has attracted attention as a fuel that does not emit carbon dioxide (CO2) when burned. It is also valued for its low risk of explosion, unlike hydrogen. It will be a substance that is significantly safer in both storage and transportation. Now there is a possibility that it can be produced simply.
