Suntory shares hydrogen vision despite UK setback
After being denied UK government funding to build a hydrogen plant next to Auchentoshan Distillery, Suntory Global Spirits has launched its Green Hydrogen Vision plan.
The Suntory Green Hydrogen Vision sets out the company’s mid- to long-term plan to use hydrogen in its efforts to reduce its carbon output.
Japan created the Basic Hydrogen Strategy in 2017, highlighting hydrogen as an important energy source to create a decarbonised society.
Earlier this month, the group had to shelve its plans to build a hydrogen site adjacent to its Auchentoshan Distillery in Scotland after failing to secure UK government funding.
Suntory Group has partnered with Yamanashi prefecture and nine companies utilising technological development to build Japan’s biggest 16-megawatt Yamanashi Model P2G System. It will supply green hydrogen to Suntory Minami Alps Hakushu Water Plant and Suntory’s Hakushu Distillery.
An example of initiatives included in Suntory’s Green Hydrogen Vision is the goal to generate energy from water. The group aims to implement this across its entire supply chain, from production to distribution and sales.
Masaaki Fujiwara, chief sustainability officer of Suntory Holdings, commented: “Hydrogen, an energy source that is ‘born from water, returning to water,’ is an essential element for Suntory Group to achieve net zero emissions, as outlined in our Environmental Vision toward 2050.
“As a corporation sustained by the gifts of nature and water, pursuing initiatives on hydrogen was a natural development.
“As a new approach to engaging with water, we aim to contribute to the realisation of a hydrogen society by fully leveraging and expanding the potential of hydrogen energy.”
Additional goals in the vision include creating a ‘local production for local consumption model’ for green hydrogen, using renewable energy and water sources.
Furthermore, Suntory Global Spirits will use its portfolio to proactively explore new business opportunities using hydrogen energy.
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