ILEA001099196: MMC develops car based on DaimlerChrysler's fuel-cell system

Fukuoka City has begun a demonstration of a small fuel cell.

Fukuoka City, Tokyo R&D (Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo), and others have begun a joint demonstration of fuel cell trucks (photo). By increasing the size of the high-pressure hydrogen container, they will be able to extend the cruising range from the 2018 demonstration to 210 kilometers and run on expressways. The vehicle will be a modified diesel-powered two-ton truck, which was used for 55 days from October to December in 2006 to make deliveries in the central part of Fukuoka City, traveling about 30 kilometers a day. The hydrogen containers were increased from three 36-liter bottles to three 51-liter bottles, and the cruising range was increased from 150 kilometers to 210 kilometers. The demonstration is being carried out as part of the Ministry of the Environment's "Technology Development and Demonstration Project to Strengthen CO2 Emission Reduction Measures. It will be operated by Tenjin Area Joint Transport Co. Photo taken on November 5, 2019, credit: Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun / Kyodo News Images

Kick-off event for the MLIT Digital Data Platform

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) has established the National Land Transport Data Council to build a "National Land Transport Data Platform" that will serve as a foundation for linking data on national land and economic activities held by industry, academia and government. The council will recruit members who will utilize the platform and provide data. A prototype version of the platform will be made available to members, and issues will be identified to hasten its practical application. Members will be recruited from corporations, experts, government agencies, and individuals. We want the prototype to be used as soon as possible, and we want to bring together the knowledge and expertise of industry, government and academia to develop and improve the system," he said, expressing his hopes for the private sector. (October 31, 2019, Tokyo, Japan; Credit: Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun / Kyodo News Images)

Demonstration experiment using Osaka City University's fuel-cell vehicles to operate ships on hydrogen

Shigeyuki Minami, a special-appointment professor at the Organization for Advanced Research and Development, Osaka City University, and his colleagues on April 1 unveiled a demonstration experiment of a hydrogen fuel cell-powered ship (photo) that can drive a fuel cell vehicle as a hydrogen power generation system. It was jointly developed with Current Dynamics (Sumiyoshi Ward, Osaka City). It will be equipped with Toyota Motor Corporation's "MIRAI" fuel cell vehicle and can carry up to 50 cubic meters of hydrogen. It has already obtained an operation license from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. It can travel for about 13 hours at a speed of 8 kilometers per hour, and about 93 hours at a speed of 4 kilometers per hour. Professor Minami said, "We would like to confirm that it is safe and can run for a long time, and use this as a trigger for the development of fuel cell ships. (= August 1, 2019, photo location unknown, credit: Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun / Kyodo News Images)