NTT Anode Energy and Panasonic are developing a hydrogen supply chain model at the Osaka-Kansai Expo to popularize hydrogen, which is expected to be the next-generation energy source.
The hydrogen supply chain model generates hydrogen from zero-carbon electricity, including solar power generation installed in the NTT Pavilion, and supplies it to the Panasonic Group Pavilion, located about 200 meters away, through an underground pipeline. Both pavilions use this hydrogen to generate electricity in pure hydrogen fuel cells, which are used to power the pavilion facilities and nighttime lighting.
The hydrogen generated by the water electrolysis device in the NTT Pavilion is stored in a hydrogen storage alloy tank and transported through an underground pipeline to a pure hydrogen fuel cell installed near the entrance to the Panasonic Group Pavilion. One pure hydrogen fuel cell using this hydrogen covers the electricity required for the LED lighting that lights up the entire pavilion.
Hiroshi Komatsu, head of the incubation promotion office of the technology strategy department at NTT Anode Energy, said, “We want many people to feel the coming of a hydrogen society that utilizes hydrogen, the next generation of clean energy, through the Expo.”

NTT is considering using its telecommunications buildings as regional hydrogen hubs, building pipelines for hydrogen transportation using underground spaces such as cable tunnels, and creating a hydrogen society by making full use of the maintenance and operation system it has cultivated in its telecommunications services.
NTT plans to strengthen collaboration with other companies as it moves forward. For example, it is currently considering commercializing hydrogen in the Himeji area together with Kansai Electric Power, JR West, JR Freight, and Panasonic.

“It costs a lot of money to build new infrastructure facilities such as pipelines. That’s why we focused on the assets of the NTT Group, such as telecommunications networks, cable tunnels, and pipelines. By utilizing existing assets, we can use hydrogen at a reasonable price without incurring large costs,” Komatsu explained.

サプライチェーンモデル（Supply Chain Model）

NTT is currently considering installing hydrogen pipelines in the pipelines.
The aim is to establish a versatile hydrogen pipeline that can be applied not only to NTT Group assets, but also to utility tunnels, water supply and sewerage systems, and underground spaces owned by other lifeline operators.

Panasonic is promoting its hydrogen business from the perspective of new technology and new business. Specifically, it is focusing on the development of pure hydrogen fuel cells, a type of generator. Pure hydrogen fuel cells generate electricity using an electrical chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen in the air. The only emission is water, and no carbon dioxide.

Maki Aiba, head of the Energy Strategy Office at the Electric Materials & Lifestyle Energy Business Division of Panasonic Electric Works, said, “We have commercialized the fuel cell “ENE-FARM” that uses household gas, but we have used the technology we have cultivated here to develop a hydrogen-fueled fuel cell, which we have been deploying since 2021. We would like to popularize net-zero energy buildings and hydrogen smart towns, starting with the demonstration of a hydrogen supply chain model at the World Expo”.

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