For Japan’s largest utilities, lab-made fuels are a meaningful step toward greener energy that also extends the life of billions of dollars’ worth of existing fossil-fuel infrastructure.
For their critics, products like "e-methane” and "syngas” are not an attractive compromise but an expensive distraction, at a time when the country — already a climate laggard in global terms — should instead be accelerating its shift to renewable power.
Eager to win over naysayers, companies like Electric Power Development and Osaka Gas have seized on this year’s World Expo in Osaka, packing last week’s launch event with mascots, virtual reality and their plans to incorporate alternative fuels into existing systems. A transformation, they argue, can be achieved without compromising on energy security or the stability provided by their pipelines and fleet of power plants.
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