Hitachi Zosen Corporation and Daiki Ataka Engineering Co., Ltd., have received an order to undertake R&D of a low-cost hydrogen production system and conduct research into an energy carrier system as part of the program 2013 Technology Development for the Storage and Transport of Renewable Energy organized by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, or METI. The METI program aims not only to establish a technology to produce hydrogen-a source of clean energy-from renewable energy efficiently and at low cost, but also to develop an energy carrier technology for the long-distance transport and long-term storage of hydrogen, at a price for hydrogen and other energy carriers competitive with that of fossil fuels.