Toshiba Corporation starts first 100kW fuel cell system in Japan

The commercial scale system designed by the multinational Japanese conglomerate is supplying electricity to refrigerators and hot water to heating systems at a municipal wholesale flower and vegetable market in Shunan, Yamaguchi prefecture.

Toshiba’s system will utilise the H₂ produced as a by-product at a local caustic soda plant operated by Tokyo-based Tokuyama Corporation, which is also installing a 100kW fuel cell to provide energy and heat to a swimming pool in the local area. 

Hiroyuki Ota, General Manager of Toshiba’s Energy Systems & Solutions Company, highlighted, “We have harnessed our technology to realise a more efficient, environmentally-friendly pure H₂ fuel cell that generates power and heat-free of carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions.”

The day-to-day performance of the system will be monitored to evaluate the use of by-product H₂ as a fuel under the Ministry of the Environment’s Low-Carbon Hydrogen Supply Chain Project.

The Japanese corporation previously unveiled the country’s largest alkaline water electrolysis H₂ production system in July 2016.