Tokyo—TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION (TMC) and AISIN SEIKI CO., LTD. (Aisin) announce they will provide a total of 30 residential, solid-oxide fuel-cell (SOFC1) cogeneration systems developed jointly by Osaka Gas Co., Ltd. (Osaka Gas), Kyocera Corporation (Kyocera), TMC and Aisin to five Japanese gas companies, as part of the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization’s (NEDO’s) Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Verification Project2for 2009.
Specifically, TMC and Aisin will provide four SOFC cogeneration systems to Tokyo Gas Co. Ltd., one to Toho Gas Co., Ltd., 23 to Osaka Gas and one to Saibu Gas Co., Ltd. TMC and Aisin have already supplied one to Hokkaido Gas Co., Ltd. Once installation is complete in regular households, the five gas companies will gather data necessary for commercialization.
TMC and Aisin have worked together with Osaka Gas and Kyocera since March 2009 on the development of residential SOFC cogeneration systems. By joining in this verification project to gather data for the research and development of commercially viable systems, they hope to accelerate progress, culminating in the commercialization of residential SOFC cogeneration systems by the first half of the 2010s.
1Fuel cells using ceramic electrolytes. Oxygen is ionized and, by passing through an electrolyte, chemically reacts with hydrogen and carbon monoxide, generating electricity. One of the notable characteristics of this system is that it uses carbon monoxide.
2Begun in 2007; the project’s aim is to install residential SOFC cogeneration systems in regular households to identify future technological development issues based on the data acquired. Unless otherwise noted, years mentioned are from April 1 to March 31.
Source: http://www2.toyota.co.jp/en/news/09/12/1217_1.html
