By Talicia Marie Stewart
Akihabara News (Tokyo) — Toshiba has now opened three H2One Station Units, which is a system that produces hydrogen and with water as its only emission. With this technology, Toshiba says that it is aiming for a CO2-free “hydrogen society.”
Toshiba’s H2One Station Unit provides hydrogen using electric power that is itself generated through renewable energy. It then supplies this hydrogen to Fuel Cell Vehicles (FCVs).
Yoshihisa Sanagi, general manager of the Hydrogen Energy Business Division at Toshiba Energy Systems & Solutions Corporation, stated, “We will contribute to the revitalization of the community through hydrogen-related systems which can supply clean electricity based on renewable energy and expand hydrogen energy with hydrogen-powered technologies.”
Based on the 23 kilometer average mileage per day in Japan, Toshiba has calculated that a H2One Station Unit can produce enough hydrogen for eight FCVs per day. And, when the pressure accumulator is full, it can do so in under three minutes.
The first of these units was established at Tohoku Baseball Stadium; the second in Fukui Prefecture; and at the end of this January a third in Toyama Prefecture.
In March 2018, Toshiba’s first H2One system started operation in Tohoku Baseball Stadium, providing it with clean energy all year round. The stadium seats 23,000 people and is the home field of the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles pro baseball team. The system houses a regional radio station that can broadcast essential information to support disaster recovery in an emergency, utilizing an uninterrupted, off-grid energy supply.
More commonly, the H2One supplies energy to the stadium’s electronic displays, the Rakuten.FM Tohoku radio station, and also lights the park near the baseball stadium.
In December 2019, the first H2One Station for FCVs was established in Tsuruga City, Fukui Prefecture.
Through the development of such hydrogen infrastructure, Toshiba hopes to be ready for the growth in the use of FCVs across the nation.