Vol. 77, No. 4, July 2022

SANAGI Yoshihisa

SATO Junichi / SAITO Satoshi

Accompanying the worldwide momentum toward carbon neutrality, concerted efforts are being made to develop related technologies in numerous fields including the widespread adoption of renewable energy and carbon recycling. In particular, the role of hydrogen has become more important than ever before.

The Toshiba Group has been promoting the realization of a hydrogen society through the development of various hydrogen energy technologies, including hydrogen production technologies for the mass introduction of hydrogen at low cost and fuel cell technologies to expand the use of hydrogen. We are also providing power-to-gas (P2G) solutions to accelerate the installation of renewable energy systems, and power-to-chemicals (P2C) solutions to recycle carbon dioxide (CO₂) using renewable energy.

NAKAJIMA Keita / BABA Junsuke

Toshiba Energy Systems & Solutions Corporation has been participating in the construction and demonstration operation of a hydrogen production facility equipped with a 10 MW-class hydrogen production unit and a 20 MW solar photovoltaic power generation facility in Namie, Fukushima Prefecture, since 2016, through the Fukushima Hydrogen Energy Research Field (FH2R) project commissioned by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO).

In 2019, we completed the construction and commissioning run of the hydrogen production facility as well as the development, evaluation, and implementation of the control system. Since 2020, we have been conducting demonstration operation using this control system aimed at confirming its functions including a demand response (DR) function for maintaining the balance of electricity supply and demand.

YOSHINAGA Norihiro / SUGANO Yoshitsune / SHIMOTORI Soichiro

As the power generated by renewable energy systems tends to vary according to the weather conditions and the installation sites of such systems tend to be unevenly distributed, power-to-gas (P2G), a system in which surplus electric power is converted into hydrogen gas through water electrolysis to serve as a gaseous energy carrier for the storage and transport of energy, has been attracting attention in recent years. Polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) water electrolysis systems are capable of rapidly responding to the output power fluctuations of renewable energy systems. However, a disadvantage of these systems is that they require large amounts of costly precious-metal catalysts in order to achieve high efficiency and long-term durability.

To reduce the amount of precious-metal catalysts required, the Toshiba Group has developed the following two technologies: a proprietary nanostructure control technology using a sputtering method, and a hydrogen leakage suppression technology for membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs). From the results of experiments on a PEM water electrolysis system using these technologies, we have confirmed that it achieves a 90% reduction in required precious-metal catalysts compared with conventional systems while maintaining efficiency and durability. We have also succeeded in increasing the size of the MEA by suppressing the formation of wrinkles in the electrolyte membranes, making it possible to manufacture large-scale PEM water electrolysis systems.

YOSHINO Masato / OSADA Norikazu / HASEBE Kazuto

The development and introduction of water electrolysis technologies for carbon dioxide (CO₂)-free hydrogen production using power generated by renewable energy sources have been progressing worldwide in recent years, as part of the movement toward the realization of carbon neutrality.

Toshiba Energy Systems & Solutions Corporation is continuing its efforts to develop technologies for high-temperature steam electrolysis in solid oxide cells in order to make more effective use of exhaust heat from existing power generation plants and industrial systems. We have already developed a small electrolysis cell that achieves an initial current density of more than 0.8 A/cm² and provides adequate durability for four or five years. We have now developed an improved small electrolysis cell composed of low-cost materials, whose initial performance is comparable to that of the conventional cell. We have also been making efforts to promote the design of a 500 kW-class electrolysis system and the development of manufacturing processes for this system with the objective of achieving the practical implementation of large-scale hydrogen production systems at an early stage.

HIDAI Shoichi / OGASAWARA Momo / NAGATA Yusaku / SASAKI Hiromi

In line with the recent world trend toward the achievement of carbon neutrality, attention in China has been increasingly focused on the development of technologies utilizing  hydrogen energy.

With these circumstances as a background, Toshiba Energy Systems & Solutions Corporation has developed a 5 kW fuel cell (FC) stack for reformed methanol FC systems supplied by More Hydrogen Energy Technology Co., Ltd. (MOH), a Chinese company in Guangzhou City, as power generation systems installed at base stations for fifth-generation (5G) mobile communications. This FC stack achieves high durability through the application of technologies cultivated in our development of the ENE-FARM residential FC system. We have conducted both performance tests using a mixed-fuel gas and accelerated durability tests, and verified that the newly developed 5 kW FC stack satisfies the specifications required for reformed methanol FC systems.

SAWAMOTO Noritatsu / SUZUKI Takashi / YAMAGATA Koichi

Toshiba Energy Systems & Solutions Corporation transferred its fuel cell manufacturing base to a new facility in September 2020 to tackle manufacturing reforms, with the aim of increasing production volume and improving product quality.

We are now working toward the realization of smart operation, in order to construct production lines capable of preventing various problems related to quality, productivity, and safety that might occur during the manufacturing of fuel cell products. Smart operation of the facility, which will lead to the creation of a smart factory, involves the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to automatically detect any signs of abnormalities based on data collected in real time from each process by means of Internet of Things (IoT) technologies, making it possible to enhance and automate plan-do-check-act (PDCA) cycles at the site.

MIZUGUCHI Koji / ODAIRA Hiromichi / HANAI Satoshi

Toward the achievement of carbon neutrality by 2050, substantial progress is expected in innovations related to transforming renewable energy into the predominant source of power, electrification, and the realization of a hydrogen society. On the other hand, there is a strong need for the replacement of fossil-derived mobility fuels as well as chemical products derived from fossil fuels because of the difficulty of reducing carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions during the manufacturing of such products.

With the aim of overcoming this issue, Toshiba Energy Systems & Solutions Corporation is promoting the practical application of power-to-chemicals (P2C) through the electrochemical conversion of CO₂ contained in exhaust gases and the atmosphere into carbon monoxide (CO) using surplus power generated from renewable energy sources, as well as the production of synthetic fuels and chemicals synthesized from CO and green hydrogen (H₂). Focusing on CO₂ electrolysis technologies that are playing a key role in P2C, we are developing a high-throughput CO₂ electrolysis cell stack and a CO₂ electrolysis module using fuel cell manufacturing equipment aimed at producing several tens of thousands of tons of CO annually by 2030.

MINENO Katsuya / MIYAMOTO Akira

The rapid increase in the volume of data processing and communication resulting from the progress of information technology (IT) in recent years has given rise to the need for large-scale data centers, which are being constructed worldwide. Increased power consumption in such large-scale data centers is driving demand for uninterruptible power systems (UPS) with larger capacity compared with existing models.

In response to this market demand, Toshiba Infrastructure Systems & Solutions Corporation has developed the TOSNIC™-U350 modular type UPS with a capacity of 1 000 kVA or larger, as an addition to its lineup of UPS models. The TOSNIC™-U350 achieves high reliability by employing a modular configuration and provides high operating efficiency so as to improve the overall efficiency of electricity use in data centers, while also ensuring compatibility with three-phase four-wire power distribution systems.

OHNO Hiroshi

Non-contact inspection methods to measure the three-dimensional (3D) surface shapes of products by means of calculations using multiple images captured by cameras have become widely disseminated in a variety of manufacturing processes, either during or after the processing of products. However, as it is difficult to obtain clear images of microdefects on the surfaces of products using conventional optical imaging technologies, there is a possibility that the shapes of microdefects might not be distinguished or that they might be overlooked.

To address this issue, Toshiba Corporation has developed a method to calculate the 3D surface shapes of microdefects through color mapping of the directions of light reflected from the microdefects using a clear image obtained by a newly developed one-shot optical imaging system. From the results of experiments using a prototype imaging system, we have confirmed that this method makes it possible to instantly measure the 3D surface shapes of microdefects, including those of minute scale.