TANAKA Precious Metals will install a stationary pure hydrogen fuel cell system with a maximum generating capacity of 500 kilowatts (kW), one of the largest in private-sector use in Japan, at the Shonan Plant in Kanagawa Prefecture, a key recycling business site for TANAKA.

The company will install an H2Rex pure hydrogen fuel cell system manufactured by Toshiba Energy Systems & Solutions Corporation to control generating efficiency. Operation is scheduled to commence in 2026.

Rendering of the system to be installed at TANAKA; Photo courtesy of Toshiba Energy Systems & Solutions

With the introduction of this system, 25% of the electricity used at the Shonan Plant will be switched to power generated by the fuel cell system, with an expected reduction in cO₂ emissions of 1,979 tons annually (this and subsequent figures are estimates by TANAKA). This is equivalent to 32% of the plant’s CO₂ emissions reduction target for 2030.

TANAKA will continue to expand its use of hydrogen energy after the introduction of the system. In conjunction with this, hydrogen demand will increase, and TANAKA has high hopes for Kawasaki City, an advanced hydrogen city in Kanagawa Prefecture, and seeks to build a hydrogen supply base in the waterfront area.

TANAKA joined the Kawasaki Carbon Neutral Industrial Complex Formation Promotion Council and the Kawasaki Carbon Neutral Port Formation Promotion Council, two public-private collaborative bodies made up of companies and other organizations in agreement with the city’s vision and strategies that were established to investigate and promote measures for achieving carbon neutrality.

TANAKA has been developing electrode catalysts for fuel cells using primarily platinum since the 1980s and currently supplies electrode catalysts for polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFC) globally. The FC Catalyst Development Center, located on the grounds of the Shonan Plant, will manufacture and recycle catalysts using hydrogen energy, enabling continuous, stable supplies even during times of disaster.