Japan firms test Al, alloys to generate hydrogen in EVs

A Japanese energy and resource recycling firm is collaborating with carmaker Toyota to test the use of aluminium and alloys recovered in car manufacturing as a source of hydrogen generation for fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs).

Toyama-based Alhytec has commissioned a pilot hydrogen generation plant in Toyama prefecture's Takaoka to use aluminium alloy chips collected from Toyota's engine and fuel cell tank manufacturing plants in Aichi prefecture. The company aims to commercially develop a hydrogen generation unit using aluminium and alloys for marketing to industrial plants.

Hydrogen can be produced from the reaction of aluminium and water. Aluminium hydroxide generated as a by-product from the process can also be utilised in production of various chemical and industrial materials. Such a recycling process, if materialised locally, does not require any hydrogen storage and transport infrastructure.

A group of local Japanese firms in 2015 launched a roundtable discussion to study the potential of hydrogen energy businesses by treatment of aluminium and alloys. The participants included Alhytec and aluminium construction materials maker Sankyo Tateyama, both based in Toyama. Toyama was also home to energy-intensive aluminium smelters, who utilised the advantage of low-cost hydroelectricity generated in nearby mountain areas, before they closed down. Toyama continues to house various aluminium-consumer industries.

Japan no longer produces aluminium ingots locally after the country's last aluminium smelter, Nippon Light Metal's Kanbara smelter, closed in 2014. The country's aluminium imports dropped by 8pc on the year to 1.4mn t during the April 2019-March 2020 fiscal year.

Toyota has worked with Alhytec in technology development for hydrogen generation, to identify more efficient use of aluminium chips generated daily in its manufacturing process. The company has also been participating in initiatives to build a hydrogen supply chain and promote hydrogen businesses as part of efforts towards a decarbonised society.

Toyota on 9 December launched the Mirai FCEV, designed to have a 850km cruising range without needing to refuel, around a 30pc improvement in cruising range over the first-generation Mirai launched in 2014 as the world's first mass-produced FCEV.

By Rieko Suda