Sep 12 2016
Toshiba Corporation today announced that the company’s pure hydrogen fuel cell system delivered to Toyota Motor Corporation became operational on September 12. The 3.5 kW system is the first commercial pure hydrogen fuel cell system that Toshiba has delivered, and Toyota will use it to investigate high-efficiency energy usage at the new energy management facility in its Honsha Plant, toward achieving optimal energy use.
Pure Hydrogen Fuel Cell System. Credit: Toshiba
The pure hydrogen fuel cell is fueled by hydrogen and produces electricity without carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. It is fast to start up, taking only a few minutes to come on-line, and will generate electricity for the lighting and air-conditioning of the energy management facility. The facility will also use the hot water produced as a by-product of the generation. Combined with solar photovoltaic generators and energy storage systems in experiments, the fuel cell will also be used to establish more efficient energy utilization methods.
Toshiba will participate in the experiments, toward developing mechanisms for forecasting electricity and heat energy demand based on actual operation, and methods for operation optimization. Toshiba’s focus is on realizing more efficient energy utilization.
Mr. Hiroyuki Ota, General Manager of Toshiba’s Energy Systems & Solutions Company, noted: “I am delighted that Toshiba’s pure hydrogen fuel cell system is now operating successfully at Toyota. I am confident it will help Toyota to reduce CO2 emissions and become more eco-friendly. We want to see Toshiba products contributing to the achievement of a low-carbon economy.”
As Toyota endeavors to achieve zero CO2 emissions at its plants, it selected Toshiba’s pure hydrogen fuel cell system on a positive evaluation of its environmental performance and highly efficient emission-free power generation.
Toshiba has developed hydrogen fuel cell units in a collaborative project with Yamaguchi Liquid Hydrogen Corporation, Chofukosan Co., Ltd and Iwatani Corporation since 2014. The company will continue to develop value-added systems, including a system that combines a fuel cell system and a hot-water storage unit incorporating a pure hydrogen boiler.
Toshiba is developing hydrogen-related technologies towards realizing a hydrogen economy, and undertake global activities to reduce CO2 emissions.