Tokyo, Japan, May 9, 2008 - (JCN Newswire) - Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) announced today
that it plans to provide, for the third year in a row, home-use fuel cell cogeneration units as
part of a government project to verify the practical use of CO2-reducing stationary fuel
cells.
The municipal-gas-fueled 1-kW home-use fuel cell cogeneration units?which generate electricity
and capture waste heat for household heating?are to play a role in the continuing Large-Scale
Stationary Fuel Cell Demonstration Project of Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry
(METI). Twenty-four of the units will be provided to project participant Toho Gas Co., Ltd. (Toho), which will install them in homes in three central-Japan prefectures (Aichi, Gifu and
Mie) to collect data toward commercialization. The government project, which was originally
scheduled to conclude on March 31, 2008, is now expected to run until the end of March 2009.
TMC's home-use fuel cell cogeneration units run on a system?jointly developed with Aisin Seiki
Co., Ltd.?consisting of a stationary fuel cell and a hot water storage tank. Recent
improvements, such as a modified heat-recovery circuit, have boosted heat-recovery efficiency
by roughly 20% (as measured by TMC) without any loss in power-generation efficiency. The
result is a marked reduction in household primary-energy consumption and CO2 emissions.
As part of its corporate social responsibility program, TMC has long positioned global
environmental preservation as a top-priority management concern and is actively working to
provide technological and commercial solutions to various environmental issues. To this end,
TMC intends to continue investing in the research and development needed to reduce costs and
improve the overall efficiency and durability of its residential fuel cell cogeneration
system.
About TMC's participation in government stationary fuel cell project
TMC has been participating in METI's Large-Scale Stationary Fuel Cell Demonstration Project
since 2006. The project is being carried out by the New Energy Foundation, which has been
encouraging energy suppliers to participate every year since 2005. As a fuel cell system
manufacturer, TMC provided 24 residential fuel cell cogeneration units to energy supplier and
project participant Toho in 2006 and 28 units in 2007.
Outline of TMC's residential fuel cell cogeneration system
1) Development
TMC's residential fuel cell cogeneration system is the result of a joint effort involving the
respective technologies of TMC and Aisin. TMC developed the fuel cell and Aisin developed the
overall system.
To verify if TMC's residential fuel cell cogeneration system could be practically applied to
multi-unit housing complexes, two system units were installed at the residence for official
participants in the 2005 World Exposition, Aichi, Japan (EXPO 2005 Aichi, Japan) and used from
February through the end of September 2005.
To verify the system's energy-saving performance and reliability, a unit was installed at the
Aichi Prefectural Government Office in July 2006 and used until the end of March 2008.
2) Main Features
TMC's residential fuel cell cogeneration system provides a high level of power-generation
efficiency, even when used frequently in the low-to-medium load range. It is extremely quiet,
requires little maintenance and is light and compact.
3) Main Specifications
TMC's residential fuel cell cogeneration system consists of a fuel cell unit and a hot water
storage tank.
Fuel cell unit
Type Polymer electrolyte
Fuel Processed natural gas (13A)
Output 1kW
Rated generation efficiency(LHV*1) 38% (35% HHV*2)
Heat recovery efficiency(LHV) 52% (48% HHV)
Rated total efficiency LHV) 90% (83% HHV)
Size Height: 900mm; width: 860mm;
depth: 350mm
Weight 120kg (dry weight)
Hot water storage unit
Capacity 200 liters
Temperature Approximately 60 C
Standard functions Backup hot water supply, fully
automatic bath, multifunctional
heat reservoir (floor heating, etc.)
Size Height: 1,840mm; width: 800mm;
depth: 450mm
Weight 122kg (dry weight)
*1. Lower heating value. Does not include the latent heat of
vaporization of water.
*2. Higher heating value. Includes the latent heat of vaporization
of water.
About Toyota Motor Corporation
Established in 1937, Toyota Motor Corporation (TSE: 7203; NYSE: TM), which celebrates its 70th
anniversary this year, has developed into one of the world's best known automobile
manufacturers. The Toyota Group sold over 8.5 million vehicles under the Toyota, Lexus,
Daihatsu, and Hino brands in more than 170 countries and regions in fiscal 2007. Further, the
Company's production is firmly rooted in local communities, with 52 companies manufacturing
vehicles and parts in 26 countries and regions. Toyota had approximately 300,000 employees on a
consolidated basis at the end of fiscal 2007. The company is headquartered in Aichi, Japan. For
more information, please visit www.toyota.co.jp/en/index.html .
Source: Toyota Motor Corporation
Contact:Toyota Motor Corporation
Corporate Communications Department/
Public Affairs Division
Tel: +81-3-3817-9150
URL: http://www.toyota.co.jp/en
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