Latest news with #Akimoto
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Gkids Acquires Multiple Territories For Japanese Action Sci-Fi Animated Feature ‘All You Need Is Kill'
EXCLUSIVE: Gkids has acquired multiple territories for Japanese animated action sci-fi drama All You Need Is Kill, including for North America, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. The movie is based on the eponymous best-selling novel by Hiroshi Sakurazaka which also inspired Doug Liman's 2014 live-action adaptation Edge of Tomorrow with Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt. More from Deadline Laika Signs 'Corpse Bride' & 'Frankenweenie' Screenwriter John August To Write Stop-Motion Teen Missing Mother Drama For Pete Candeland 'The Cat In The Hat' Team Defend Warners' Decision To Shelve 'Coyote Vs. Acme': "We Are Lucky To Do Art In Our Profession But We Can't Lock Ourselves In A Basement" 'Arcane' Showrunner Christian Linke On Exploring Character Relationships & Artistic "Extremes" For Season 2 The directorial debut of Kenichiro Akimoto, with a script written by Yuichiro Kido, the new animated adaptation world premiered at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival earlier this week in the Midnight Specials section. All You Need Is Kill is produced by Warner Bros. Japan with animation production by celebrated Japanese animation house Studio 4°C (Tekkonkinkreet, Mind Game). Studio 4°C, which is also at Annecy this year with Yasuhiro Aoki's drama ChaO in the main competition, will be hosting a studio presentation at the festival on Friday, in the presence of the directors and producers for both titles. Set in the near future, All You Need Is Kill follows the story of Rita, a resourceful but isolated young woman volunteering to help rebuild Japan after the mysterious appearance of a massive alien flower known as 'Darol.' When Darol unexpectedly erupts in a deadly event, unleashing monstrous creatures that decimate the population, Rita is caught in the destruction—and killed. But then she wakes up again. And again. Caught in an endless time loop, Rita must navigate the trauma and repetition of death until she crosses paths with Keiji, a shy young man trapped in the same cycle. Together, they fight to break free from the loop and find meaning in the chaos around them. 'With All You Need Is Kill, I wanted to convey that even in the endless loop of life, we can still make discoveries and grow, depending on how we perceive the situation,' said Akimoto. 'All You Need Is Kill is a standout work that explores time, identity, and survival with breathtaking animation and a powerful emotional core,' said Gkids President Dave Jesteadt. 'The story has remained so meaningful for years because it captures something essential about the human condition, and the need to keep moving forward. Director Akimoto has created a brilliant new take that we are sure fans will love.' Gkids and Studio 4°C have previously collaborated on releases for Mind Game, Children of the Sea, while Gkids also recently acquired ChaO, and several other celebrated titles. Further details on the release will be announced at a later date. The deal was negotiated between GKIDS' Director of Acquisitions and Development Rodney Uhler, and Warner Bros. Japan. Best of Deadline List Of Hollywood & Media Layoffs From Paramount To Warner Bros Discovery To CNN & More Sean 'Diddy' Combs Sex-Trafficking Trial Updates: Cassie Ventura's Testimony, $10M Hotel Settlement, Drugs, Violence, & The Feds A Full Timeline Of Blake Lively & Justin Baldoni's 'It Ends With Us' Feud In Court, Online & In The Media
Japan Times
01-04-2025
- Business
- Japan Times
Japan-Australia flagship hydrogen project stumbles
Japan wants to become a hydrogen fuel leader to meet its net-zero goals, but one blockbuster project is hanging in the balance over questions about its climate credentials. The Hydrogen Energy Supply Chain (HESC) is billed as a billion-dollar attempt to ship liquid hydrogen from Australia to Japan. However, cold feet about the project in Australia means HESC will source hydrogen from Japan to meet a 2030 deadline for its demonstration phase. Hydrogen sounds promising on paper: While fossil fuels emit planet-warming greenhouse gases, burning hydrogen creates only water vapor. But it has not yet lived up to its promise, with several much-hyped projects globally struggling to overcome high costs and engineering challenges. Hydrogen's climate credentials also depend on how it is produced. "Green hydrogen" uses renewable energy, while "blue hydrogen" relies on fossil fuels such as coal and gas, with carbon-capture technology to reduce emissions. "Brown hydrogen" is produced by fossil fuels without any carbon capture. The HESC project aims to produce blue hydrogen in the Australian state of Victoria, harnessing abundant local supplies of lignite coal. With the world's first liquid hydrogen tanker and an imposing storage site near Kobe in Japan, HESC had been touted as a flagship experiment showcasing Japan's ambitions for the fuel. HESC says it aims to eventually produce enough hydrogen to "reduce about 1.8 million tons per annum of CO2 from being released into the atmosphere." Japan's energy sector emitted 974 million metric tons of CO2 from fuel combustion in 2022, according to the International Energy Agency. Japan's government pledged ¥220 billion (now $1.4 billion) to HESC's current "commercial demonstration" phase, which has a completion deadline of 2030. But to meet this deadline, the project will now source hydrogen in Japan. That has been blamed on cold feet among Australian officials concerned about the project's environmental payoff. A spokesman for Japan's Kawasaki Heavy Industries, one of the companies behind HESC, said the decision to shift production to Japan was taken "chiefly because of delay in procedures on the Australian side." The Victoria government did not respond to repeated requests for comment, though Australian officials have told local media that the move was a Japanese "commercial decision." Australia's cooling interest in the project is due to "strong opposition" from environmental activists and energy experts opposed to carbon capture and storage, said Daisuke Akimoto of Tokyo University of Information Sciences. "The main problem the project faces is the lack of approval of the blue hydrogen project by the Victorian government," Akimoto said. Kawasaki Heavy said it has not yet decided what type of hydrogen it will procure in Japan and downplayed the project's challenges. "We are very positive" about HESC and "there is no change" to the goal of building a new supply chain, the spokesman said, declining to be named. However, sourcing the hydrogen locally leaves "a critical evidence gap at the middle of the project" — proving carbon capture and storage work — explained David Cebon, an engineering professor at the University of Cambridge. That is "difficult and challenging and not being done successfully anywhere," Cebon said. Kawasaki Heavy has said it will continue "feasibility studies" for the HESC project, but Cebon believes it will "quietly die," partly because of the cost of shipping hydrogen to Japan. To be transported by sea as a liquid, hydrogen needs to be cooled to minus 253 degrees Celsius — an expensive, energy-intensive process. "I think wiser heads in the government just realized how crazy it is," said Mark Ogge from the Australia Institute think tank. Japanese energy company Kansai Electric has separately withdrawn from a different project to produce "green" hydrogen in Australia. A company spokesman declined to comment on reports that the decision was due to ballooning costs. Resource-poor Japan is the world's fifth-largest single-country emitter of carbon dioxide. It already produces some hydrogen domestically, mostly using natural gas and oil or nuclear power, although this is limited and expensive. Some experts are sanguine about HESC's challenges. Noe van Hulst, a hydrogen advisor to the IEA, said it was important to take the long view. "Pilot projects are undertaken to test innovations in practice: learning-by-doing," he said. "Yes, it is hard to develop a low-carbon hydrogen market and it will take decades," as with wind and solar energy, van Hulst said. Solar in particular has seen costs plummet and uptake soar far beyond initial expectations and at greater speed. And for now, "there isn't really an alternative (to) decarbonize these hard-to-electrify sectors like steel, cement, ships and planes," van Hulst added.
Iraqi News
31-03-2025
- Business
- Iraqi News
Japan-Australia flagship hydrogen project stumbles
Tokyo – Japan wants to become a hydrogen fuel leader to meet its net-zero goals, but one blockbuster project is hanging in the balance over questions about its climate credentials. The Hydrogen Energy Supply Chain (HESC) is billed as a billion-dollar attempt to ship liquid hydrogen from Australia to Japan. However, cold feet about the project in Australia means HESC will source hydrogen from Japan to meet a 2030 deadline for its demonstration phase. Hydrogen sounds promising on paper: while fossil fuels emit planet-warming greenhouse gases, burning hydrogen creates only water vapour. But it has not yet lived up to its promise, with several much-hyped projects globally struggling to overcome high costs and engineering challenges. Hydrogen's climate credentials also depend on how it is produced. 'Green hydrogen' uses renewable energy, while 'blue hydrogen' relies on fossil fuels such as coal and gas, with carbon-capture technology to reduce emissions. 'Brown hydrogen' is produced by fossil fuels without any carbon capture. The HESC project aims to produce blue hydrogen in the Australian state of Victoria, harnessing abundant local supplies of lignite coal. With the world's first liquid hydrogen tanker and an imposing storage site near Kobe in Japan, HESC had been touted as a flagship experiment showcasing Japan's ambitions for the fuel. HESC says it aims to eventually produce enough hydrogen to 'reduce about 1.8 million tonnes per annum of CO2 from being released into the atmosphere'. Japan's energy sector emitted 974 million tonnes of CO2 from fuel combustion in 2022, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). – 'Strong opposition' – Japan's government pledged 220 billion yen (now $1.4 billion) to HESC's current 'commercial demonstration' phase, which has a completion deadline of 2030. But to meet this deadline, the project will now source hydrogen in Japan. That has been blamed on cold feet among Australian officials concerned about the project's environmental payoff. A spokesman for Japan's Kawasaki Heavy Industries, one of the companies behind HESC, said the decision to shift production to Japan was taken 'chiefly because of delay in procedures on the Australian side'. The Victoria government did not respond to repeated requests for comment, though Australian officials have told local media that the move was a Japanese 'commercial decision'. Australia's cooling interest in the project is due to 'strong opposition' from environmental activists and energy experts opposed to carbon capture and storage, said Daisuke Akimoto of Tokyo University of Information Sciences. 'The main problem the project faces is the lack of approval of the blue hydrogen project by the Victorian government,' Akimoto said. Kawasaki said it has not yet decided what type of hydrogen it will procure in Japan and downplayed the project's challenges. 'We are very positive' about HESC and 'there is no change' to the goal of building a new supply chain, the spokesman said, declining to be named. – 'Evidence gap' – However, sourcing the hydrogen locally leaves 'a critical evidence gap at the middle of the project' — proving carbon capture and storage work — explained David Cebon, an engineering professor at the University of Cambridge. That is 'difficult and challenging and not being done successfully anywhere', Cebon said. Kawasaki has said it will continue 'feasibility studies' for the HESC project, but Cebon believes it will 'quietly die', partly because of the cost of shipping hydrogen to Japan. To be transported by sea as a liquid, hydrogen needs to be cooled to -253 degrees Celsius (-423.4 Fahrenheit) — an expensive, energy-intensive process. 'I think wiser heads in the government just realised how crazy it is,' said Mark Ogge from the Australia Institute think-tank. Japanese energy company Kansai Electric has separately withdrawn from a different project to produce 'green' hydrogen in Australia. A company spokesman declined to comment on reports that the decision was due to ballooning costs. – 'It will take decades' – Resource-poor Japan is the world's fifth largest single-country emitter of carbon dioxide. It already produces some hydrogen domestically, mostly using natural gas and oil or nuclear power, although this is limited and expensive. Some experts are sanguine about HESC's challenges. Noe van Hulst, a hydrogen advisor to the IEA, said it was important to take the long view. 'Pilot projects are undertaken to test innovations in practice: learning-by-doing,' he told AFP. 'Yes, it is hard to develop a low-carbon hydrogen market and it will take decades,' as with wind and solar energy, van Hulst said. Solar in particular has seen costs plummet and uptake soar far beyond initial expectations and at greater speed. And for now, 'there isn't really an alternative (to) decarbonise these hard-to-electrify sectors like steel, cement, ships and planes', van Hulst added.
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Japan-Australia flagship hydrogen project stumbles
Japan wants to become a hydrogen fuel leader to meet its net-zero goals, but one blockbuster project is hanging in the balance over questions about its climate credentials. The Hydrogen Energy Supply Chain (HESC) is billed as a billion-dollar attempt to ship liquid hydrogen from Australia to Japan. However, cold feet about the project in Australia means HESC will source hydrogen from Japan to meet a 2030 deadline for its demonstration phase. Hydrogen sounds promising on paper: while fossil fuels emit planet-warming greenhouse gases, burning hydrogen creates only water vapour. But it has not yet lived up to its promise, with several much-hyped projects globally struggling to overcome high costs and engineering challenges. Hydrogen's climate credentials also depend on how it is produced. "Green hydrogen" uses renewable energy, while "blue hydrogen" relies on fossil fuels such as coal and gas, with carbon-capture technology to reduce emissions. "Brown hydrogen" is produced by fossil fuels without any carbon capture. The HESC project aims to produce blue hydrogen in the Australian state of Victoria, harnessing abundant local supplies of lignite coal. With the world's first liquid hydrogen tanker and an imposing storage site near Kobe in Japan, HESC had been touted as a flagship experiment showcasing Japan's ambitions for the fuel. HESC says it aims to eventually produce enough hydrogen to "reduce about 1.8 million tonnes per annum of CO2 from being released into the atmosphere". Japan's energy sector emitted 974 million tonnes of CO2 from fuel combustion in 2022, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). - 'Strong opposition' - Japan's government pledged 220 billion yen (now $1.4 billion) to HESC's current "commercial demonstration" phase, which has a completion deadline of 2030. But to meet this deadline, the project will now source hydrogen in Japan. That has been blamed on cold feet among Australian officials concerned about the project's environmental payoff. A spokesman for Japan's Kawasaki Heavy Industries, one of the companies behind HESC, said the decision to shift production to Japan was taken "chiefly because of delay in procedures on the Australian side". The Victoria government did not respond to repeated requests for comment, though Australian officials have told local media that the move was a Japanese "commercial decision". Australia's cooling interest in the project is due to "strong opposition" from environmental activists and energy experts opposed to carbon capture and storage, said Daisuke Akimoto of Tokyo University of Information Sciences. "The main problem the project faces is the lack of approval of the blue hydrogen project by the Victorian government," Akimoto said. Kawasaki said it has not yet decided what type of hydrogen it will procure in Japan and downplayed the project's challenges. "We are very positive" about HESC and "there is no change" to the goal of building a new supply chain, the spokesman said, declining to be named. - 'Evidence gap' - However, sourcing the hydrogen locally leaves "a critical evidence gap at the middle of the project" -- proving carbon capture and storage work -- explained David Cebon, an engineering professor at the University of Cambridge. That is "difficult and challenging and not being done successfully anywhere", Cebon said. Kawasaki has said it will continue "feasibility studies" for the HESC project, but Cebon believes it will "quietly die", partly because of the cost of shipping hydrogen to Japan. To be transported by sea as a liquid, hydrogen needs to be cooled to -253 degrees Celsius (-423.4 Fahrenheit) -- an expensive, energy-intensive process. "I think wiser heads in the government just realised how crazy it is," said Mark Ogge from the Australia Institute think-tank. Japanese energy company Kansai Electric has separately withdrawn from a different project to produce "green" hydrogen in Australia. A company spokesman declined to comment on reports that the decision was due to ballooning costs. - 'It will take decades' - Resource-poor Japan is the world's fifth largest single-country emitter of carbon dioxide. It already produces some hydrogen domestically, mostly using natural gas and oil or nuclear power, although this is limited and expensive. Some experts are sanguine about HESC's challenges. Noe van Hulst, a hydrogen advisor to the IEA, said it was important to take the long view. "Pilot projects are undertaken to test innovations in practice: learning-by-doing," he told AFP. "Yes, it is hard to develop a low-carbon hydrogen market and it will take decades," as with wind and solar energy, van Hulst said. Solar in particular has seen costs plummet and uptake soar far beyond initial expectations and at greater speed. And for now, "there isn't really an alternative (to) decarbonise these hard-to-electrify sectors like steel, cement, ships and planes", van Hulst added. kh-kaf/sah/fox
