Based on a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) among the three parties which was concluded last year, the parties have studied development of hydrogen fuel cell system for bus by adopting Toshiba ESS’s polymer electrolyte hydrogen fuel cell stack which features durability and stability.

Now Toshiba ESS’s polymer electrolyte hydrogen fuel cell stacks have been shipped to Impact, which will start testing and verification of hydrogen fuel cell system for buses as the first application.

Impact makes battery systems for transportation, heavy duty and stationary energy storage in Europe. Combining Toshiba ESS’s high durability hydrogen fuel cell stack and Impact’s capability of system design and production, Impact aims for early commercialisation of hydrogen fuel cell system for the mobility sector.

Itochu Plantech is in charge of coordination and logistics, and will develop new application for hydrogen fuel cell system and hydrogen fuel cell power generation through its network.

Through this collaboration, the trio aim to expand the hydrogen value chain in Europe and globally, and contribute to decarbonisation.

Toshiba recently announced it has developed large-scale production technology for electrodes in Power to Gas (P2G) technology.

P2G uses electrolysis of water to convert renewable energy into hydrogen, for storage and transportation where needed. Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) electrolysis is seen as a highly promising conversion method, as it is reacts rapidly to power fluctuations and is highly durable.

However, PEM uses iridium, one of the rarest of all traded precious metals, as the catalyst in its electrodes. Practical application requires reduction of the iridium used, which poses challenges.

Toshiba, which developed an iridium oxide nanosheet laminated catalyst that reduced the iridium requirement to 1/10 in 2017, has now developed large-scale production technology that deposits the catalyst over a maximum area of 5m2 at one time.

This advance is expected to drive forward the early commercialisation of P2G for large-scale power conversion, and will contribute to carbon neutrality. Toshiba is aiming for commercialisation from FY2023.

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