Toyota constructs zero emissions building at Honsha Plant, Japan

Toyota Motor Corporation has installed stationary pure hydrogen fuel cells at the energy management facility which had been completed at its Honsha Plant in Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture, in August. The fuel cells started operations on 12th September.

Toyota is progressing with initiatives toward the fulfilment of the Plant Zero CO2 Emissions Challenge that was announced at the 2015 Toyota Environmental Forum. In this direction, Toyota aims to completely eliminate CO2 emissions at the recently constructed new energy management facility through energy-saving measures, and the use of renewable and hydrogen-based energy.

Specifically, the energy-saving measures include, promoting conservation by allowing each employee to switch the air-conditioning and lighting on and off, as well as maximising the use of natural lighting and natural ventilation. The measures are expected to reduce electric power consumption and CO2 emissions by half.

For renewable energy to be utilised at the plant, stationary pure hydrogen fuel cells with a rated power output of 3.5 kW have been installed. Additionally, an energy management system that combines solar power generation with storage batteries made by recycling used batteries from Prius hybrid vehicles has been put into operation.

With this system, energy demand from the energy management facility is being projected, and a corresponding efficient energy supply is realised mainly through the highly energy-efficient fuel cells. These are supplemented by solar power-which generates changeable supply of power, in combination with storage batteries. The excess thermal energy generated by the fuel cells is then used for air-conditioning.

12