G THE LATEST NEWS NUMBER 202, 2013 FCDIC An Ene-Farm Was Born for Under ¥2 million Arranged by T. Homma 1. Governmental Measures go to METI. In detail, ¥200 billion is allocated for (1) Hydrogen Production by Renewable Energy: METI subsidy to promote energy saving and competitive The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry strength for businesses as well as ¥100.5 billion for (METI) will support the development of technology for charger infrastructure of next generation vehicles hydrogen production with using renewable energy in such as electric vehicles (EVs). For research and FY 2013. Toyota Motor, Nissan Motor and Honda plan development, ¥2.5 billion is allocated for verification to sell commercial hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) of high-temperature superconductive direct electric in 2015, and 100 hydrogen filling stations are current transmission, and ¥1 billion for research into expected be prepared throughout Japan. Renewable contactless power transmission technology for energy is used from a hydrogen production stage, photovoltaic generator. To stimulate the economy with which leads to a reduction of the environmental research and development investment, ¥2.9 million is impact over a total FCV life cycle. The technology set with priority for the subsidy of a testing facility development is aimed to be commercialized in five to preparation for FCV hydrogen infrastructure. (The ten years. METI will back up the technology Denki Shimbun, January 11, 2013) development to produce hydrogen by the electrolysis of water at a lower cost with renewable energy 2. Local Governmental Measures including wind and solar power. The cost of a (1) Tochigi Prefecture hydrogen production device using electrolysis is aimed Tochigi prefecture will install three 3kW phosphoric to be reduced to around ¥250,000, which is a third of acid fuel cells (PAFCs) at Kenou Joka center, a sewage the current price. The ministry will subsidize treatment facility, to sell electricity by using biogas. To development expenses of businesses and universities. start the electricity sales from the end of FY 2014, the Also, hydrogen is expected to be a storage method of prefecture plans to receive a certificate for the facility wind and solar energy whose output largely fluctuates for the net metering of the renewable energy feed-in upon the weather, as well as for FCVs. Hydrogen is tariff from the government within FY2012 , and then produced by surplus electricity which cannot go into to have a contract with Tokyo Electric Power the grid, and fuel cells (FCs) are supplied with the Company (TEPCO). Kenou Joka center expects an hydrogen to provide electricity when demand is high. economic benefit for reducing the sewage treatment For the storage system, METI will also finance the expense. The sewage treatment produces development of an energy transport method from approximately 1,300,000 m3 of biogas such as Hokkaido and the Tohoku area where large amount of methane each year. Currently 25% of the biogas is renewable energy is expected to be produced, with used to heat the digester chamber, and 75% is burned Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and to dispose. In contrast, all the gas can be used up by the Technology (MEXT). Energy conversion from installing FCs. The electricity will be sold to the utility hydrogen to ammonia for easier transportation will be firm and the waste heat will be utilized to heat the investigated. (The Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun, December digester chamber. If contracting with TEPCO within 19, 2012) the FY 2012, the tariff will be ¥40.95 per kWh and (2) Supplementary Budget for FY 2012 last 20 years. The construction will be ¥400.2 million. On December 10th, the Japanese government The annual production plan is 2,520,677 kWh which revealed a supplementary budget bill for FY 2012 as gives ¥103.222 million profit. ¥60.4057 million is an economic policy, and ¥1,202.9 billion in total would 1 http://www.fcdic.com/eng/index.html expected as a profit after taking construction and unveiling ceremony on January 12th. Tottori city maintenance costs into account. (The Denki Shimbun, started the project in August, 2012. The idea of the December 28, 2012) project is to save excess energy into a shared storage (2) Hokkaido battery from photovoltaic generators installed at a In January, 2013, Tomamae town of the Rumoi area plant factory, which is newly built at Wakabadai and Wakkanai city will start an operation experiment North industrial estate to grow vegetables, a day-care to produce hydrogen with renewable energy such as facility and three private buildings. The stored energy wind and solar power and convert it into an organic will be used for outdoor lighting and an EV charger hydride to store. This joint project is with firms and provided to buildings during power cuts. including Air Water (Osaka), Tatsumi Ryouki (Tokyo) According to Tottori Gas, electricity and gas usage of and an environment venture Hrein Energy (Sapporo). an average household of four will be reduced by 37% The energy is planned to be used to heat the and the system will provide 90% of the electricity for neighboring area for a while and to power FCVs in the the household. (Nihonkai Shimbun, January 13, future. Electrolytically-generated hydrogen is 2013) converted into an organic hydride, which is made liquid at a room temperature and under normal 3. FC Related Element Technology Development pressure, by a chemical reaction with a liquid such as (1) Nagoya University toluene and a catalyst to enable to be stored in a tank. A study group with Prof. Masaru Hori of Plasma of To be used as fuel, the hydride is reversed into the Nanotechnology Research Center at Nagoya hydrogen by a gasifier. The hydride is less than 1/500 University developed a technology to create at fast of hydrogen gas in volume and can be handled in the rate “Carbon Nano Graphene” which is a net same way as gasoline, and is more suitable to be structure of a hexagonally-arranged carbon atom stored and transported than hydrogen gas. The key sheet substance at a normal temperature. The which led to the experiment technology is from Hrein product is made at 0.6-1.7 mg/min with liquid alcohol Energy. The firm developed a practical device to turn and plasma discharge, which is 10 to 100 times faster hydrogen into an organic hydride which is movable on than chemical vapor deposition (CVD) using high a vehicle. (The Hokkaido Shimbun, January 3, 2013) temperature alcohol vapor. Carbon Nano Graphene is (3) Tokyo potentially more demanded as an electrode material On January 6th, the governor assessed an energy for FCs and photovoltaic generators. The technology reform and disaster control of the budget bill of Tokyo allows negating the need for energy to bring alcohol to for FY 2013. A subsidy scheme will be set to promote high temperature and highly pressurize argon gas, energy creation facilities including storage batteries which leads to commercial production of Carbon Nano and FCs for the home. For five years from FY 2013 to Graphene at a lower cost. The study group aims to 2017, Tokyo will add up to half the amount of state commercialize the mass production technology with a subsidy for approximately 8,500 storage batteries and battery material manufacturer. (The Nikkan Kogyo approximately 19,000 FCs. The state subsidizes third Shimbun, December 18, 2012) of a storage battery purchase up to ¥1 million per (2) Waseda University facility. Also, ¥50 million is allocated to develop a A study team with Prof. Masakazu Washio and a “Solar Power Estimation Database” to promote visiting researcher Akihiro Oshima of Waseda photovoltaic generators. (The Yomiuri Shimbun, The Research Institute for Science and Engineering Asahi Shimbun, The Mainichi Newspapers, The successfully improved battery characteristic by Sankei Shimbun, January 7, 2013; The Yomiuri graduating the concentration of a certain atom group Shimbun, The Mainichi Newspapers, The Sankei of an electrolyte membrane for a polymer electrolyte Shimbun, The Nikkei, January 19, 2013) fuel cell (PEFC). Low energy 60 kV electron beam is (4) Tottori City applied to a thin fluororesin film to form a sulfonate A smart house was completed for “Wakabadai Area group which is an atom group consisting of sulfur, Smart Grid Town Demonstration Project”, and had an oxygen and hydrogen. The film has more 2 http://www.fcdic.com/eng/index.html concentration of the sulfonate group as it gets thicker. of FC gas diffusion layer (GDL). Since a fabric less A film made into an electrolyte membrane of a FC to than 200 µm, which is thinner than conventional compare the performance, and the FC exhibited products, is ready to be mass produced, the firm aims dozens of percentage higher output than a FC with a to construct a supply system which fits to customers’ uniformly concentrated sulfonate group electrolyte desires. Teijin targets the FCV market which is membrane. The gradational concentration reduces expected to grow fully from 2015 as a usage of the hydrogen and oxygen gas crossing over by half. (The product. The product is flat woven polyacrylonitrile Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun, January 14) (PAN) carbon fibers and Toho Tenax will carry out the (3) The University of Electro-Communications production. Constituting a key part of a FC, GDL base The University of Electro-Communications (UEC), material supplies hydrogen and oxygen, collects power Tokyo, and New Energy and Industrial Technology and discharge water produced in electrolyte Development Organization (NEDO) installed an membranes. (The Chemical Daily, January 15, 2013) facility to observe a catalytic reaction of an electrode, exclusively when a FC generates electricity, at a large 5. Business Plan for Ene-Farm synchrotron radiation facility SPring-8.