TOKYO – Japan’s top carmakers have teamed up with major energy companies and other key players to set up a consortium to reduce the costs and inconvenience of using hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles (FCVs) in a bid to boost demand..
TOKYO – Japan’s top carmakers have teamed up with major energy companies and other key players to set up a consortium to reduce the costs and inconvenience of using hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles (FCVs) in a bid to boost demand.
The consortium of 11 companies – known as Japan H2 Mobility – aims to reduce the costs of installing and maintaining hydrogen refuelling stations, among other objectives.
It targets to have 80 new hydrogen stations by fiscal 2021 – in addition to the current 101 that have been built, planned or are undergoing construction by individual companies, president Hideki Sugawara said on Monday (March 5).
This is in line with national targets set last year for 160 stations by 2020, and 900 by 2030.
Tokyo also wants to increase the number of FCVs on its roads to 40,000 units by 2020, and to 800,000 units by 2030.
The hope is that more advanced technology and better cost efficiencies can help to drive consumer interest, with refuelling costs expected to be slashed by a third by 2030, Mr Sugawara said.
The joint venture company will also work to reduce the burden on infrastructure companies to build and maintain hydrogen stations through private and public funds.
Each station now has a price tag of 500 million Japanese yen (S$6.
