Japan would support the technology required to power electrified aircraft in an effort to boost the competitiveness of the country's businesses in a developing area of the aerospace sector.

The overall amount of help planned by the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry is 30.6 billion yen ($205 million).

Of this, 13.3 billion yen will be used for applications like as fuel-saving engine control technology and 17.3 billion yen will be used to develop hydrogen fuel cell systems for airplanes.

The ministry's funding strategy will be discussed at a subsequent meeting as Airbus works to commercialize the first commercial aircraft powered by hydrogen by 2035.

Others are developing clean-burning hydrogen-powered aircraft as well in an effort to reduce aviation's carbon dioxide emissions.

For the assistance initiative, the government will start looking for participants this year, including aerospace, battery, and car industries. It intends prototype testing to commence in fiscal 2030 and research to start in fiscal 2024.

In the United States and Europe, fuel cell aircraft have previously undergone flight testing.

Electricity is produced by fuel cells through a chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen. In comparison to vehicles, fuel cells must provide more power to power an airplane.

In a worldwide supply chain for aircraft fuelled by hydrogen, the ministry sees a place for Japanese aerospace suppliers. For the Boeing 787, about 35% of the airframe and 15% of the engine components came from Japanese sources. Japan also wants to take the lead in developing international specifications for fuel cell systems for aviation.

Member nations of the International Civil Aviation Organization have set a lofty objective of achieving net-zero carbon emissions from international flights by 2050. According to data from the International Energy Agency, domestic and international aviation produced over 700 million tonnes of CO2 in 2021, which accounts for nearly 2% of all CO2 emissions from energy generation and industrial operations globally.

The Green Innovation Fund, which is supervised by the ministry's New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization, will provide Japan with financial support for the development of hydrogen-powered aircraft.