Japan readies for fuel cells

Automotive Industries,  August, 2003  

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Japan continues to be bullish on hydrogen as a future automotive fuel, although there is considerable skepticism about government targets for introducing fuel cell vehicles to the marketplace.

In a national plan announced last December, the government set cumulative sales targets of 50,000 units by 2010 and 5 million by 2020. Even officials at the Ministry of Economy, Industry & Trade (METI), the main force behind hydrogen research, feel these targets are unrealistic.

"The arithmetic works against them," say one official. "If sales in 2005 and 2006 (the first two years of the initiative) are in the several hundred range, that means demand would have to exceed 10,000 units annually from 2007 through 2010. It's just not feasible."

The same basic arithmetic applies to the million target, but by a factor of five to 10. Thus, average annual sales would have to approach 50,000 units. "Not likely," declares the official.

Still, METI is bullish on hydrogen as reflected ed in this year's ministerial budget in which outlays for hydrogen research were raised to $258 million, 41 percent more than in fiscal 2002. Spending covers seven projects.

These include:

* Polymer-electrolyte fuel cell technology, five years from fiscal 2000 to fiscal 2004. This year's budget: $42.5 million.

* Basic technology for safe usage of hydrogen, five years from fiscal 2003 to fiscal 2007. This year's budget: $37.5 million.

* A public road demonstration study of fuel cell vehicle and hydrogen fuel station operations, three years from fiscal 2002 to fiscal 2004. This year's budget: $32.5 million.

* Establishment of codes, standards, regulations and testing methods (part of the so-called 'Millennium Project'), four years from fiscal 2001 to fiscal 2004. This year's budget et: $32.5 million.

* Lithium-ion batteries as a supplemental power source for fuel cell vehicles, three years from fiscal 2002 to fiscal 2004. This year's budget: $16.7 million.

* Small-capacity 'direct methanol' fuel cells for laptop computers and cellular phones, three years from fiscal 2003 to fiscal 2005. This year's budget: $1.7 million.

* Large-scale 'molten carbonate' and 'solid' fuel cells for power generation, five years from fiscal 2000 to fiscal 2004. This year's budget: $30 million.

The METI official says fiscal 2004 outlays will be roughly the same as this year's, although a final decision will not be made until next spring.

With respect to the three-year Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Demonstration Project, which got underway last June, there are currently around 25 test vehicles in operation on public roads in the Tokyo-Yokohama metropolitan area. These include 11 Toyota FCHVs, six Honda FCXs, three Nissan X-Trail FCVs, four Hino FCHV-BUS2s, one Mercedes-Benz F-Cell and one Opel HydroGen3; the HydroGen3 is the only model to run on liquid hydrogen (see specifications below).

It is not clear whether Daihatsu's Move FCV-K-2 has joined the test although the model, which employs a Toyota fuel cell system, received a license plate earlier this year from the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry.

Meanwhile, four hydrogen fueling stations have gone into operation since March with a fifth scheduled to come onstream in August. These include hydrogen made from desulfurized gasoline, naptha, liquid hydrogen, liquid petroleum gas and methanol.

FUEL CELL VEHICLE SPECIFICATIONS

                      Toyota FCHV-BUS2   Toyota FCHV

Fuel cell stack       Toyota             Toyota
Fuel cell type        PEM                PEM
Fuel cell output      90 kW (x2)         90 kW
Fuel type             compressed         compressed
Storage system        high-press. tank   high-press. tank
Min. stor. pressure   34.5 MPa.          34.5 Mpa
Secondary battery     nickel metal       nickel metal
                        hydride            hydride
Motor type            permanent          permanent
                        magnet             magnet
Maximum output        80 kW (x2)         80 kW
Maximum torque        260 N-m (x2)       260 N-m
Cruising range        250 miles          187.5 mile
Maximum Speed         50 mph             97 mph

                      Honda FCX          Nissan X-Trail FCV

Fuel cell stack       Ballard            UTC
Fuel cell type        PEM                PEM
Fuel cell output      78 kW              N.A.
Fuel type             compressed         compressed
Storage system        high-press. tank   high-press. tank
Min. stor. pressure   34 MPa             34.5 Mpa
Secondary battery     ultracapacitor     lithium-ion
Motor type            permanent          coaxial
                        magnet
Maximum output        60 kW              58 kW
Maximum torque        272 N-m            N.A.
Cruising range        222 miles          125 miles
Maximum Speed         94 mph             78 mph

                      Daihatsu Move FCV-K-2   Mercedes F-Cell

Fuel cell stack       Toyota                  Ballard
Fuel cell type        PEM                     PEM
Fuel cell output      30 kW                   68 kW
Fuel type             compressed              compressed
Storage system        high-press. tank        high-press. tank
Min. stor. pressure   24.8 Mpa                34.5 Mpa
Secondary battery     nickel metal            nickel metal
                        hydride                 hydride
Motor type            permanent               N.A.
                        magnet
Maximum output        32 kW                   65 kW
Maximum torque        65 N-m                  210 N-m
Cruising range        75 miles                94 miles
Maximum Speed         65.5 mph                87.5 mph

                      Opel HydroGen 3

Fuel cell stack       General Motors
Fuel cell type        PEM
Fuel cell output      94 kW
Fuel type             liquid
Storage system        high-press. tank
Min. stor. pressure   68 liters
Secondary battery     nickel metal
                        hydride
Motor type            N.A.
Maximum output        60 kW
Maximum torque        215 N-m
Cruising range        250 miles
Maximum Speed         87.5 mph