Press Releases

2004

May 27, 2004

Kurita Water Industries, Ltd.
SINANEN CO., LTD.
ITOCHU ENEX CO., LTD.

Completion of the World's First Hydrogen fuelling Station for Installation Alongside Existing Gas Stands

We are pleased to announce the completion of the world's first hydrogen station for installation alongside existing LP gas stand facilities to supply hydrogen to fuel cell cars. On May 26, 2004, a ceremony to commemorate the opening of the JHFC Sagamihara Hydrogen Station was held at the Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture office of SINANEN CO., LTD.
This facility will serve as the site of trial operations and testing to be carried out with the aim of accumulating know-how on hydrogen supply facilities for fuel cell cars. The Sagamihara facility was jointly built by three companies, Kurita Water Industries, Ltd. (Headquarters: Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo; President: Hiroshi Fujino), SINANEN CO., LTD. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President: Teruo Hattori), and ITOCHU ENEX CO., LTD. (Headquarters: Meguro-ku, Tokyo; President: Kiyomi Yamada), as part of their involvement in the Japan Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Demonstration Project (JHFC) since FY2003.
The JHFC Sagamihara Hydrogen Station consists of mobile hydrogen production equipment, where alkaline water electrolysis hydrogen generators and compressors are mounted on trucks, and hydrogen supply facilities, including gas storage tanks and dispensers. The facility has two main features: _ This is the first JHFC project that does not generate hydrogen in the usual way using fossil fuels, but instead uses alkaline water electrolysis technology to generate hydrogen from water and electricity. _ This facility uses a mobile (vehicle-mounted) hydrogen supply system where hydrogen generators and compressors are mounted on trucks instead of using conventional, stationary hydrogen-generation equipment. These features work together to save on the space required for the installation of equipment and have resulted in the world's first facility where hydrogen supply equipment is installed alongside existing LP gas stands already in operation.
The practical application of this technology in Japan, a country were the required water systems and electrical infrastructure for hydrogen production are already in place, is expected to involve the deployment of facilities across the existing network of gasoline stands and LP gas stands. As such, we believe that this project will make a major contribution to the speedy deployment of a hydrogen station network.
The three companies involved in this initiative, Kurita Water Industries, SINANEN, and ITOCHU ENEX, will embark on a series of tests and trial operations at the recently completed hydrogen station to build-up know-how on operating hydrogen supply facilities for fuel cell cars, and together are planning to jointly deploy a nationwide network of hydrogen stations for fuel cell cars in the future.

Below you will find an outline of the JHFC Project and an overview of the efforts and roles of the companies involved.

Outline and Objectives of the Project

The JHFC Project is a verification and testing program that has been up and running since FY2002 under the Engineering Advancement Association of Japan and the Japan Automobile Research Institute, as part of empirical and other research into solid, high-polymer fuel cell systems being subsidized by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). The project has attracted attention as it involves the operation of Japan's first large-scale hydrogen supply facility that uses a wide variety of fuels and technologies, and for providing the world's first test drive facility for fuel cell cars.
The aim of this project is to identify any technical issues associated with conditions for actual use and to collect data about environmental capabilities, energy efficiency, fuel properties, safety and durability, etc. in an effort to further technological development in this field.

Overview of the Sagamihara Hydrogen Station

The recently completed JHFC Sagamihara Hydrogen Station, a fuel cell car hydrogen supply facility, consists of mobile hydrogen production equipment, in which alkaline water electrolysis hydrogen generators and compressors are mounted on trucks, and hydrogen supply facilities, including gas storage tanks and dispensers.
The Sagamihara Hydrogen Station is the first hydrogen station in the world that operates alongside existing franchised LP gas stand facilities already in operation.

Features

  • 1)Mobile hydrogen production facilities with alkaline water electrolysis hydrogen generators and compressors mounted on trucks.
  • 2) Makes use of the existing electrical and water system infrastructure.
  • 3)Capable of using natural energy, including solar power and wind power.
  • 4)Receiving equipment only comprised of gas storage tanks and dispensers.
  • 5)Space-saving through the shared use of existing facilities.

The Efforts and Roles of Each Company

Some three years ago now, Kurita Water Industries moved into the energy business as a new business area, and through our participation in this project, we hope to further technological development and to generate momentum for the future commercialization of that technology.
As for Kurita Water Industries' role in the current project, we will be in charge of overseeing the mobile hydrogen-production equipment, as well as the coordination of the overall project.
SINANEN sees this project as part of their expansion into the field of new energy, an area that holds great promise, and through their participation in this project, hope to develop know-how on the supply of hydrogen to fuel cell cars and on running hydrogen supply stations with a view to commercialization.
In this project, SINANEN will be responsible for overseeing the operation and management of hydrogen stations.
ITOCHU ENEX has a network of 2,132 gasoline stands and 53 auto gas stands (direct-managed and affiliated stations only), and as such are attempting to get a handle on the foreseeable growth in hydrogen usage that is just around the corner, with a view to having hydrogen facilities operating alongside gasoline stands and auto gas stands in the future.
In this project, ITOCHU ENEX is responsible for high-pressure gas equipment and dispensers, etc.

ceremony to commemorate the opening

ceremony to commemorate the opening

mobile hydrosen production equipment

mobile hydrosen production equipment

JHFC Sagamihara Hydrogen Station

JHFC Sagamihara Hydrogen Station