Hydrogen Station "Hydro Shuttle" for the Spread of FCVs
Fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) that run on oxygen and hydrogen are the ultimate eco-cars.
FCVs are clean systems that generate electric power by a reaction between oxygen and hydrogen and emit water only.
Japan is promoting the development of environments for the popularization of FCVs. Commercial hydrogen refueling stations have been built since fiscal year 2013.
Taiyo Nippon Sanso's "Hydro Shuttle" - Lowering Costs to Increase the Number of Stations
Package-type hydrogen refueling station "Hydro Shuttle"
The cost of installing a conventional hydrogen refueling station is about 4 to 6 hundred million yen. It is more expensive than a gas station. This makes it harder to increase the number of stations.
To solve this problem, we developed "Hydro Shuttle", a package-type hydrogen refueling station.
By integrating the 4 main components of a hydrogen refueling station, i.e. the dispenser, Pre-cool heat exchanger, hydrogen gas booster, and C-FRP vessel, into a single unit, we significantly reduced the installation costs. In addition, we simplified the structure of each piece of equipment, successfully reducing the cost by about 1/2 compared to that of our conventional hydrogen refueling stations.
Hydro Shuttle has a compact size of about 9 m (length) x 2 m (width) x 2.6 m (height) and requires a minimum installation space. It can be used as a stationary station, or loaded onto a truck and used as a mobile station.
We will contribute to the future of FCVs by providing low-cost equipment.