Brian Joss – Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota) and Denyo have jointly developed the fuel cell power supply vehicle based on a belief that making efforts to apply fuel cell technologies to commercial and industrial vehicles is needed to further reduce CO2 emissions.
As a leading manufacturer of mobile (portable) generators, Denyo will work with Toyota to start verification tests with the aim of commercialising it and to help create a sustainable society. The project has been selected by Japan’s Ministry of the Environment as a “Low Carbon Technology Research and Development Program.”
Together, the two companies have also pursued further possibilities wherein electrified vehicles, considered one important way that they can demonstrate their belief and provide back to society, are able to provide added value as a large-scaled power supply, delivering electricity when and where it is needed in a range of scenarios including disaster-stricken areas without power and entertainment venues such as outdoor concerts.
Many of the current generation of power supply vehicles use diesel engines to provide power to the vehicle on the road and when generating electricity.
Using fossil fuels as energy, they emit substances of environmental concern when driving and generating electricity, including the greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrogen oxide (NOx). Fuel cell power supply vehicles, on the other hand, use fuel cells to provide power. This eliminates the emission of substances of environmental concern, enables up to approximately 72 hours of continuous power supply, and provides water for showers and other uses as a by-product of power generation.
The Toyota/Denyo fuel cell power supply vehicle is based on Toyota’s “Dyna” light-duty trucks, equipped with the fuel cell system of Toyota’s Mirai Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV) as its power source. For its power supply unit, it uses a fuel cell power supply equipment developed by Denyo under a program subsidised by Japan’s Ministry of the Environment. The vehicle also carries about 65kg of hydrogen (in 27 hydrogen tanks) for traveling long distances and generating power for long periods of time.
Verification tests for the vehicle will start in September 2020. It will be compared against conventional engine-based power generators to verify the unique characteristics of fuel cell power supply vehicles, including their impact on various load equipment and reductions of CO2 emissions.
As a socially responsible company, Denyo is actively engaged in business activities that are in harmony with the environment, and will also continue to actively develop fuel cell-based products as a leading manufacturer of mobile (portable) generators. Toyota wants to dramatically reduce on-road CO2 emissions. To do so, the company will continue working hard to develop and promote the use of electrified vehicles, in the future.
CAPTION: Reducing CO2 emissions: starting verification tests. Picture: Motorpress
