Toyota to Continue Providing Residential Fuel Cell Cogen Systems
09 May 2008
Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) will provide, for the third year in a row, residential fuel cell cogeneration units as part of a Japanese government project to verify the practical home use of stationary fuel cells.
The city-gas-fueled 1-kW 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 31 March 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 PEM fuel cell and a hot water storage tank. TMC developed the fuel cell and Aisin developed the overall system. 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.
Rated generation efficiency is 38% (LHV, 35% HHV); heat recovery efficiency is 52% (LHV, 48% HHV); and rated total efficiency is 90% (LHV, 83% HHV).
I like the idea of residential cogeneration, but I wonder if a turbine or stationary ICE wouldn't be just as efficient, while being (very) much cheaper and durable.
Posted by: Alain | 09 May 2008 at 06:58 AM
GM once announced years ago that they would be in this business to prove out FCs and then move them into cars. They can reform NG and run these to provide electricity, hot water, heating and cooling for the home. There is no reason that a car company can not get into this business.
Posted by: SJC | 09 May 2008 at 08:51 AM
sjc - interesting suggestion. I was thinking this is a far better application than transport for now. A new division set up to move NG-FCs into a co-generation product line would defray some of the billions GM (and others) have spent on FC development. And Toyota is paving the way.
Posted by: gr | 09 May 2008 at 08:56 AM
They could also prove the heck out of them in the long haul and make incremental improvements without huge tooling costs. It made sense to me when I read it, but I have not heard from GM on it since.
Posted by: SJC | 09 May 2008 at 09:04 AM