On November 14, Iwatani announced pricing of hydrogen at 100 yen/Nm3 to be sold to commercial hydrogen stations of liquid hydrogen type.　This price is equivalent to the current fuel cost of hybrid car, and the price setting was intended to respond to the requirements of FCV users in order to promote diffusion of the fuel cell vehicles (FCV) to be released onto the market within this year, as commented by Hisato Ueha, executive vice president of Iwatani.

The price of hydrogen used for fuel should be an important factor to diffuse FCV like that of vehicle. In the Strategic Road Map for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells drawn up by the Ministry of Economy, Technology, and Industry (METI) in June this year, realization of a hydrogen price equivalent to the fuel cost of gasoline cars in 2015 and to that of hybrid cars in 2020 was posted as a target. Iwatani’s price announced this time can be said to have attained the realization of 2020 year’s level ahead of schedule. The price is applied to stations where liquid hydrogen is supplied, and it seems to be intended to appeal superiority of the LH2 method which excels in mass transportation and storage, as Iwatani positions it as the standard hydrogen station. It was explained that the price of 100 yen/Nm3 was figured out from the calculation based on 10.3 yen/km (at 16 km/liter with gasoline priced at 165 yen/liter) which is the fuel cost of a hybrid car to run 1 kilometer, assuming the same distance run by a hydrogen car.

According to Iwatani, the value of 16 km/liter practically corresponds to 70% of 23.2 km/liter shown in the catalog of Crown base grade Hybrid based on its actual running performance. As the price indication internationally will be based on the weight in general, Iwatani will make it out as 1,100 yen/kg (1 kg of H2 =11.12Nm3).

As an FCV car is loaded with about 5 kg of hydrogen by filling to capacity, the cost to be paid for filling at one time will come to 5,500 yen plus tax. The said price will be applied one after another to Iwatani’s hydrogen stations of LH2 type which are planned to open in the centers of four major metropolitan areas (Capital Region, Chukyo Region, Keihanshin Metropolitan Area and Fukuoka Region) from now on. In case of other stations than those adopting the liquid hydrogen type such as a bundled or mobile supply, Iwatani is said to be considering a separate way of pricing. When it comes to the supply of hydrogen for FCV, there is no other way in fact than taking it from the same infrastructure for production as that for the industrial hydrogen supply at present. Comparing with the industrial hydrogen, the price is rather challenging but we can regard it as a highly-motivated pricing aimed to promote diffusion of FCV cars.

It draws people’s keen attention what price the other companies including JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corporation will bring out responding to the spearhead action of Iwatani who opened a commercial hydrogen station for the first time in Japan.