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Artist rendering of the FC stack production building within the Honsha Plant premises
Toyota moves to expand mass-production of fuel cell stacks and hydrogen tanks towards ten-fold increase post-2020
Toyota City, Japan, May 24, 2018―Toyota sees global sales of fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV) increasing significantly after 2020, to at least 30,000 per year from today's 3,000. To prepare for this growth, the company unveiled plans for two major new facilities today: a brand-new building near its original automobile factory for expanding fuel cell stack mass production, and a new line in an existing plant to manufacture high-pressure hydrogen tanks. The FC stack is what generates the on-board electricity from hydrogen and oxygen which propel FCEVs with zero emissions, and the tanks store the hydrogen fuel. Manufacturing both components at scale is critical to achieving lower system costs and wider availability for further growth and sales of FCEVs.
Expansion of production facilities
To increase FC stack output, Toyota will move production from its current location, within one of the existing buildings at its Honsha Plant in Toyota City, to a brand-new, eight-floor high-tech facility on the same premises, near the original site of the company's very first automobile factory in 1938.
The production of high-pressure hydrogen tanks will be handled by a new, dedicated line to be added inside the nearby Shimoyama Plant (No. 3) in Miyoshi City (Aichi Prefecture). Previously, the hydrogen tanks were assembled at the Honsha plant on a smaller scale. Toyota's hydrogen tanks are made of extra-thick carbon fiber and are built to withstand major impacts.
The new facilities are expected to help significantly reduce CO2 emissions during the production stage. This is one of the initiatives for the Plant Zero CO2 Emissions Challenge in the Toyota Environmental Challenge 2050 announced in October 2015.
Construction of the new hydrogen tank line at Shimoyama is starting now, while the exterior for the new stack production facility is already finished and work will now begin on the interior. Details of the respective facilities will be announced later with a view to start operations around 2020.
Expanding FCEV sales to more countries and regions
As a technology, fuel cells are mature and ready to scale up. Toyota took the lead in bringing to market the mass-produced fuel cell sedan, the Mirai, in December 2014. Annual production and sales have increased yearly, going from about 700 units in 2015, to around 2,000 units in 2016, and, most recently, approximately 3,000 units in 2017. However, in order to encourage more widespread use of hydrogen-powered zero-emission vehicles, popularization needs to start by the 2020s. Toyota aims for annual sales of FCEVs to top 30,000 units globally from around that time.
At present, Mirai is sold in eleven countries: Japan, the United States, and nine countries in Europe. Toyota is working to develop an environment that will allow FCEVs to be sold in more countries and regions in the future. As part of this, demonstration tests of Mirai are currently under way in Australia, Canada, China, and the U.A.E., and Toyota is examining demand for FCEVs while continuing to help with initiatives to promote hydrogen infrastructure development.
In the Japanese market, Toyota aims to reach sales of at least 1,000 FCEV units per month and over 10,000 units annually, from around 2020. Sales regions within Japan will be expanded further from the current four major metropolitan areas to allow even more customers to enjoy Mirai.
On the commercial side, Toyota started sales of FC buses to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government in February 2017, and introduced the final version, the Sora, in 2018 with three additional units. Toyota aims to sell at least 100 such buses ahead of the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020.
Going forward, Toyota will expand its FCEV product range and continue to strengthen product appeal, aiming to bring the cost down. Also, Toyota will keep working with Toyota Group and other companies to develop a hydrogen supply infrastructure and construct a low-carbon hydrogen supply chain. Through these and other initiatives, the company is actively contributing to the realization of a hydrogen-based society. Source: https://newsroom.toyota.co.jp/en/corporate/22647198.html
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Related:
Seven-Eleven Japan and Toyota to Launch Joint Next-generation Convenience Store Project in Autumn 2019 toward Greater CO2 Emissions Reduction
Tokyo, Japan, June 6, 2018―Seven-Eleven Japan Co., Ltd. (Seven-Eleven) and Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota) announce today details of a joint project to reduce CO2 emissions. Seven-Eleven and Toyota entered into a basic agreement in August 2017 regarding considerations toward energy conservation and carbon dioxide emission reduction in store distribution and operation. Toyota has been investigating the use of newly developed fuel cell trucks and fuel cell generators, and the project will be implemented in stages starting in 2019.
The project aims to introduce technologies and systems developed by Toyota in Seven-Eleven store operation and distribution, reducing CO2 emissions. Stationary fuel cell generators (FC generators) and rechargeable batteries will be introduced at stores, managed centrally by building energy management systems (BEMS), raising the proportion of renewable energy and electric power derived from hydrogen used. A newly developed small fuel cell truck (small FC truck) will be introduced in the distribution process, aiming to achieve zero emissions of substances of concern including CO2.
The Seven & i Group is currently addressing five key issues*. Regarding non wasteful usage of products, ingredients and energy, Seven & i is seeking to expand renewable energy use in line with the objectives of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the United Nations in 2015. Specifically, the Group plans to increase renewable energy use in stores to 20 percent and reduce CO2 emissions by 27 percent compared to FY 2013 by 2030. Seven-Eleven is taking measures to reduce CO2 emissions throughout its entire supply chain to meet its goals, focusing on renewable energy.
On December 7, 2017, Seven-Eleven opened the environmentally, user friendly Seven-Eleven Chiyoda Nibancho Store as a flagship of these initiatives. The second such store, the Seven-Eleven Sagamihara Hashimotodai Itchome Store, opened on May 22, 2018, with renewable energy accounting for 46 percent of the store's electric power usage. Toyota technologies and systems that use hydrogen will be introduced in stores and distribution sites, with next generation stores further using renewable energy. Two small FC trucks are intended to be introduced within the Tokyo metropolitan region in approximately spring 2019, and operations next generation stores are expected to commence in approximately autumn 2019...source: https://newsroom.toyota.co.jp/en/corporate/22833613.html?padid=ag478_from_popular
