The energy sector was the protagonist of the industrial mission to Japan promoted by the Basque Government within the framework of the Euskadi-Japan 2023 initiative. With the support of ACE, a delegation of 19 companies from the wind and hydrogen sectors was formed, each with specific and parallel agendas. The wind sector companies were: DITREL, ERREKA, HINE, HWS, IBERDROLA, IRIZAR FORGE, KIMUA, LIFTRA, NERVION NAVAL OFFSHORE, SAITEC, SENER, and SLINGSINTT. The hydrogen sector companies were: AMPO, H2SITE, IDOM, IKERLAN, NIPPON GASES, PETRONOR, and TECNALIA.

During the first few days of the mission, from October 10 to 13, both sectors had parallel agendas. On one hand, the wind delegation visited Kitakyushu, where they toured the Nippon Steel company (manufacturer of metal structures for offshore wind) and attended the GOWS (Global Offshore Wind Summit) fair, the largest specific event for offshore wind in Japan.

Arantxa Tapia, the Minister of Economic Development, Sustainability, and Environment of the Basque Government, gave a speech at the official opening of the GOWS fair. After the opening ceremony, she visited the Energy Cluster stand at the event, where 10 Basque companies showcased their capabilities and projects in the field of offshore wind under the joint brand "Offshore Wind Basque Country".

The fair served as a meeting point for the Basque companies to have discussions with Japanese companies. Additionally, a networking event was organized during those days to present the capabilities of the Basque value chain in offshore wind to the Japanese entities attending GOWS.

At the same time, the hydrogen delegation visited companies in the Kobe area, including Kawasaki Heavy Industry, Kobe Steel, and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. They had the opportunity to visit projects related to the transportation of liquid hydrogen, the use of hydrogen in metallurgical plants, and the manufacturing of gas turbines for hydrogen.

Next, the delegation traveled to Fukushima to attend the Renewable Energy Industrial Fair (REIF) and also made visits to the Denso factory and the FH2R hydrogen production plant. On this occasion, Minister Arantxa Tapia participated in the opening ceremony of the REIF 2023 event and visited the booth where 8 Basque companies in the hydrogen and wind energy sectors were represented.

Both delegations converged in Tokyo over the weekend to jointly attend a meeting with the Lehendakari and participate in the Business Leader Summit, where they presented leading Basque companies in the sector and Basque companies that have a presence and activity in Japan. On the same day, the companies also had meetings with the Japanese hydrogen association and the Japanese wind association, respectively. In the meeting with the Japanese wind association, five wind park developers (TODA, KAJIMA, SHIMIZU, TAISEI, and OBAYASHI) also participated, providing an opportunity for the companies to exchange contacts.

The last days of both delegations continued with separate agendas. The wind delegation traveled to Osaka to meet with Hitachi Zosen (manufacturer of metal structures for offshore wind) and Kepco, one of the Japanese utilities that is most committed to offshore wind.

The hydrogen delegation moved to Kawasaki City to learn about the innovative hydrogen policy in the city and visited the Resonac factory, which uses innovative technology to generate CO and hydrogen from discarded plastics. Additionally, they also visited the Eneos refinery. On the final day, the delegation met with the company Chiyoda to learn about their hydrogen plans and visited the facilities of Taiyo Nissan (parent company of Nippon Gases).