At NTT Research Upgrade 2026 , I met the team behind NTT Anode Energy’s research on hydrogen pipeline transportation . They showed me a section of the resin-based pipe the company plans to insert into existing underground telecom conduits, which helped me better understand how the technology will be deployed. Hydrogen is often presented as a promising clean energy source, but transporting it safely and affordably is still a major challenge. It is not a primary fuel source in the usual sense, but an energy carrier that can be produced from water, biomass, or fossil fuels. When used in fuel cells to generate electricity, it produces only water and heat, not CO2, at the point of use, which is one reason it remains central to many decarbonization plans. That is especially relevant in Japan, which has been investing heavily in hydrogen as part of its longer-term push toward carbon neutrality , greater energy security, and industrial leadership in fuel-cell and hydrogen-related technologies.…