- Email: [email protected]
Toshiba opens Tokyo integrated Hydrogen Application Center
NEWS least 300 hydrogen refueling stations by 2025, and more than 1000 by 2030. With fuel cell buses already on the road in southern China [FCB, October 2016, p2 and November 2016, p2, and see page 3 in this issue], Synergy is a leading player in China’s ambitious plan to adopt clean-energy urban transportation. Synergy has previously licensed fuel cell manufacturing rights from Canadianbased Ballard Power Systems [August 2016, p8, and see page 2 in this issue], and is poised to begin mass production of fuel cell buses in the city of Yunfu. Presently, there are only five hydrogen stations in China, located around Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. Oregon-based Element 1 is a leading supplier of hydrogen generators that it says are significantly less expensive to own and operate compared to electrolysers, and which overcome certain regulatory restrictions that limit bulk hydrogen deliveries. The company recently announced a joint venture to commercialise fuel cell systems for China’s telecom market [June 2017, p11], and earlier this year it licensed its hydrogen purifier technology to Tanaka Kikinzoku in Japan for use with fuel cells, and partnered with Woodward Inc in Colorado to utilise flare gas-to-liquids micro systems for applications such as hydrogen refueling stations [March 2017, p10]. Element 1 Corporation, Bend, Oregon, USA. Tel: +1 541 306 3976, www.e1na.com
NREL links regional fuel cell tech suppliers, manufacturers in US
T
he US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Colorado is leading one of four regional technical exchange centres, to expand the domestic supply chain of fuel cell and hydrogen components and systems and thus improve US manufacturing competitiveness. The Mountain Region Technical Exchange Center is part of an integrated network of technical exchange centres (TECs) supported by DOE’s Fuel Cell Technologies Office. The other TECs are the East Coast Region, led by the Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology, the Midwest Region led by the Ohio Fuel Cell Coalition, and the West Coast Region led by the National Fuel Cell Research Center at the University of California, Irvine. ‘Our goal is to increase communication and promote interaction between hydrogen and fuel cell component suppliers and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs),’ explains
August 2017
Melanie Caton, NREL project leader and manager of the Rocky Mountain Region TEC. ‘Developing a robust domestic supply chain will help reduce manufacturing costs, accelerate mass production, and improve performance and durability of these systems.’ The regional TECs help to identify and evaluate potential suppliers and gaps in the supply chain, collect and catalogue non-proprietary product information from regional suppliers and OEMs, maintain supplier contact lists to introduce OEMs to suppliers, and hold annual supply chain exchanges. Coordinating with suppliers in the emerging hydrogen and fuel cell technology area also helps to identify issues and guide early-stage R&D to further reduce costs and improve performance. Each regional TEC contributes data to the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Nexus, an online national business-to-business directory that connects supplier capabilities with integrator needs and specifications. NREL is working with the Colorado Hydrogen Coalition (CHC), Colorado Cleantech Industries Association (CCIA), and the Colorado Advanced Manufacturing Alliance (CAMA) to collect supplier data through the Mountain Region Hydrogen Supply Chain Database. These four organisations recently hosted the first Cleantech Manufacturing Forum in Parker, Colorado, which was tailored to clean energy technology manufacturers and suppliers in the Rocky Mountain region. There will also be a national supply chain exchange event at the 2017 Fuel Cell Seminar & Energy Exposition in Long Beach, California in November. NREL, Hydrogen & Fuel Cells: www.nrel.gov/hydrogen Mountain Region Hydrogen Supply Chain Database: www.coloradohydrogen.org/hydrogen-supply-form Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Nexus: www.hfcnexus.com Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology: www.ccat.us Ohio Fuel Cell Coalition: www.fuelcellcorridor.com National Fuel Cell Research Center, UC Irvine: www.nfcrc.uci.edu 2017 Fuel Cell Seminar & Energy Exposition: www.fuelcellseminar.com
Toshiba opens Tokyo integrated Hydrogen Application Center
J
apanese electrical and electronics giant Toshiba has opened the new Hydrogen Application Center at its Fuchu Complex in western Tokyo. The centre is built around a newly
designed H2One™ hydrogen power system that uses renewable energy to produce ‘green’ hydrogen for supply to fuel cell powered forklifts. This latest model of Toshiba’s H2One™ solution has been developed to promote a new hydrogen supply system business for fuel cell powered vehicles in logistics facilities. The system is controlled by Toshiba’s H2EMS™ hydrogen energy management system, which includes a new hydrogen demand prediction function that forecasts supply requirements for each fuel cell powered vehicle, allowing spacesaving optimisation of the area devoted to hydrogen storage. The Hydrogen Application Center has been under construction since last autumn [FCB, December 2016, p4]. ‘This centre showcases totally CO2-free operation, from hydrogen production through to application,’ says Mr Hiroyuki Ota, project manager of Toshiba’s Energy Systems and Solutions Company. ‘The convenience of being able to fill up in as short a time as 3 minutes expressly caters to the need for extended vehicle availability and operation in factories, warehouses and airports.’ Toshiba has commissioned H2One systems for a variety of applications, including a Business Continuity Plan (BCP) model powering a Japan Railways station in Kawasaki, and for Tohoku Electric Power, which is studying how a hydrogen-based system can contribute to overcoming power supply frequency fluctuations due to intermittent renewable energy sources [May 2017, p5]. Toshiba has previously delivered H2One systems to sites in Kawasaki [April 2015, p1] and Yokohama [December 2015, p6], and recently received an order for a system to be installed at Tokyu Construction’s Institute of Technology in Sagamihara, west of Tokyo [July 2017, p6]. Toshiba has also supplied a water electrolysis system for a Japanese project to utilise hydrogen produced from wind energy facilities on Tokyo Bay for the operation of fuel cell powered forklifts in Yokohama and Kawasaki [see page 8]. Toshiba, Hydrogen Energy: www.toshiba-newenergy.com/en
Plug Power expands NY Green Bank debt facility to boost rollout
P
lug Power – headquartered in upstate New York – has amended its loan facility with NY Green Bank to increase the size of the total commitment from $25 million to $45 million. Plug Power will use the additional liquidity to deliver on its
Fuel Cells Bulletin
9
NREL links regional fuel cell tech suppliers, manufacturers in US
T
he US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Colorado is leading one of four regional technical exchange centres, to expand the domestic supply chain of fuel cell and hydrogen components and systems and thus improve US manufacturing competitiveness. The Mountain Region Technical Exchange Center is part of an integrated network of technical exchange centres (TECs) supported by DOE’s Fuel Cell Technologies Office. The other TECs are the East Coast Region, led by the Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology, the Midwest Region led by the Ohio Fuel Cell Coalition, and the West Coast Region led by the National Fuel Cell Research Center at the University of California, Irvine. ‘Our goal is to increase communication and promote interaction between hydrogen and fuel cell component suppliers and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs),’ explains
August 2017
Melanie Caton, NREL project leader and manager of the Rocky Mountain Region TEC. ‘Developing a robust domestic supply chain will help reduce manufacturing costs, accelerate mass production, and improve performance and durability of these systems.’ The regional TECs help to identify and evaluate potential suppliers and gaps in the supply chain, collect and catalogue non-proprietary product information from regional suppliers and OEMs, maintain supplier contact lists to introduce OEMs to suppliers, and hold annual supply chain exchanges. Coordinating with suppliers in the emerging hydrogen and fuel cell technology area also helps to identify issues and guide early-stage R&D to further reduce costs and improve performance. Each regional TEC contributes data to the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Nexus, an online national business-to-business directory that connects supplier capabilities with integrator needs and specifications. NREL is working with the Colorado Hydrogen Coalition (CHC), Colorado Cleantech Industries Association (CCIA), and the Colorado Advanced Manufacturing Alliance (CAMA) to collect supplier data through the Mountain Region Hydrogen Supply Chain Database. These four organisations recently hosted the first Cleantech Manufacturing Forum in Parker, Colorado, which was tailored to clean energy technology manufacturers and suppliers in the Rocky Mountain region. There will also be a national supply chain exchange event at the 2017 Fuel Cell Seminar & Energy Exposition in Long Beach, California in November. NREL, Hydrogen & Fuel Cells: www.nrel.gov/hydrogen Mountain Region Hydrogen Supply Chain Database: www.coloradohydrogen.org/hydrogen-supply-form Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Nexus: www.hfcnexus.com Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology: www.ccat.us Ohio Fuel Cell Coalition: www.fuelcellcorridor.com National Fuel Cell Research Center, UC Irvine: www.nfcrc.uci.edu 2017 Fuel Cell Seminar & Energy Exposition: www.fuelcellseminar.com
Toshiba opens Tokyo integrated Hydrogen Application Center
J
apanese electrical and electronics giant Toshiba has opened the new Hydrogen Application Center at its Fuchu Complex in western Tokyo. The centre is built around a newly
designed H2One™ hydrogen power system that uses renewable energy to produce ‘green’ hydrogen for supply to fuel cell powered forklifts. This latest model of Toshiba’s H2One™ solution has been developed to promote a new hydrogen supply system business for fuel cell powered vehicles in logistics facilities. The system is controlled by Toshiba’s H2EMS™ hydrogen energy management system, which includes a new hydrogen demand prediction function that forecasts supply requirements for each fuel cell powered vehicle, allowing spacesaving optimisation of the area devoted to hydrogen storage. The Hydrogen Application Center has been under construction since last autumn [FCB, December 2016, p4]. ‘This centre showcases totally CO2-free operation, from hydrogen production through to application,’ says Mr Hiroyuki Ota, project manager of Toshiba’s Energy Systems and Solutions Company. ‘The convenience of being able to fill up in as short a time as 3 minutes expressly caters to the need for extended vehicle availability and operation in factories, warehouses and airports.’ Toshiba has commissioned H2One systems for a variety of applications, including a Business Continuity Plan (BCP) model powering a Japan Railways station in Kawasaki, and for Tohoku Electric Power, which is studying how a hydrogen-based system can contribute to overcoming power supply frequency fluctuations due to intermittent renewable energy sources [May 2017, p5]. Toshiba has previously delivered H2One systems to sites in Kawasaki [April 2015, p1] and Yokohama [December 2015, p6], and recently received an order for a system to be installed at Tokyu Construction’s Institute of Technology in Sagamihara, west of Tokyo [July 2017, p6]. Toshiba has also supplied a water electrolysis system for a Japanese project to utilise hydrogen produced from wind energy facilities on Tokyo Bay for the operation of fuel cell powered forklifts in Yokohama and Kawasaki [see page 8]. Toshiba, Hydrogen Energy: www.toshiba-newenergy.com/en
Plug Power expands NY Green Bank debt facility to boost rollout
P
lug Power – headquartered in upstate New York – has amended its loan facility with NY Green Bank to increase the size of the total commitment from $25 million to $45 million. Plug Power will use the additional liquidity to deliver on its
Fuel Cells Bulletin
9