Toyota to Produce Hydrogen Fuel From Wind Power
Toyota and a number of partners are experimenting with a new hydrogen supply chain that is set to reduce CO2 emissions by 80 percent.
To investigate how to make clean hydrogen and deliver it on a large scale, Toyota and its partners will first start small by powering 12 hydrogen forklifts spread over four different factories. Energy to electrolyze the hydrogen will come from the Hama Wing wind power plant.
This method offers a solution for the biggest complaint about hydrogen fuel, which is that it is currently produced almost exclusively using fossil fuels.
The Japanese automaker along with the cities of Yokohama, Kawasaki, the prefectural Kanagawa government, private company Iwatani Corp. and energy and technology company Toshiba are all partnered together on this project.
SEE ALSO: 2016 Toyota Mirai Orders Open July 20 in California
Besides learning more about producing usable hydrogen with wind power, this project will also give Toyota insight into how best to transport and store the hydrogen fuel. The brand says there will be a two-day supply of hydrogen stored at each site along with electricity which will be stored in old batteries from the Prius hybrid. This will ensure that even if Hama Wing shuts down the factories can continue with their work.
Cost assessment is another major part of the project and Toyota is hoping to learn more about what a mass-production process would cost and how to make it run efficiently. Toyota also wants this project to help the public adopt the idea of hydrogen power as the company believes it proves that technological innovation can bring the fuel source to the masses conveniently.
Two hydrogen-powered forklifts will be introduced this fall, while the full-scale operation, which involves 12 forklifts, will get off the ground in 2017. The fuel will be delivered on tanker trucks which will refuel the forklifts directly.
In the U.S., Toyota currently offers the Mirai hydrogen fuel-cell powered sedan for lease only in California.
Discuss this story at our Toyota Forum
Stephen covers all of the day-to-day events of the industry as the News Editor at AutoGuide, along with being the AG truck expert. His truck knowledge comes from working long days on the woodlot with pickups and driving straight trucks professionally. When not at his desk, Steve can be found playing his bass or riding his snowmobile or Sea-Doo. Find Stephen on <A title="@Selmer07 on Twitter" href="http://www.twitter.com/selmer07">Twitter</A> and <A title="Stephen on Google+" href="http://plus.google.com/117833131531784822251?rel=author">Google+</A>
More by Stephen Elmer
Comments
Join the conversation
My biggest complaint has never been the emissions. My biggest complaint has been that no-one has shown a scenario where hydrogen could actually be cost cooperative to fuel compared to electric vehicles. That and my second greatest complaint is that there still doesn't seem to be anyone interested in actually building the million dollar per station infrastructure.