TOKYO (Nikkei)--Fuji Electric Holdings Co. (6504) will this fall start mass-producing fuel cell systems for manufacturers and other big users, expecting robust demand for the low-carbon devices.
The heavy machinery manufacturer has developed a model that occupies only about half as much space as its previous one, which has not been mass-produced. It aims to sell the new product to such potential customers as the operators of hospitals, factories and sewage treatment plants.
At its Chiba Prefecture factory, Fuji Electric has installed a line with annual output capacity of 20 100kw generators. The devices will cost around 100 million yen, with the company hoping to lower this price in the future through economies of scale.
The device is designed to extract hydrogen from gas and to generate electricity through an induced chemical reaction between the hydrogen and oxygen. It uses phosphoric acid as an electrolyte.
If so-called city gas, which is supplied to homes and factories by gas companies, is used, one generator can help reduce CO2 emissions by 394 metric tons each year. If methane, which is produced while treating sewage, is used, the device can cut emissions by 805 tons.
Fuji Electric installed its first industrial-use fuel cells at a hospital in 1998, and has shipped a total of 25 units so far. Thanks to this track record, it has begun receiving more inquiries about such products from overseas customers, including German firms.
(The Nikkei Aug. 2 edition)
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