On February 10, a ceremony was held at the New Kansai International Airport marking the opening of a hydrogen filling facility for FC forklifts at the airport. The ceremony was held in front of the dispenser installed at the First Island International Cargo Area. Iwatani Chairman Akiji Makino as well as Toshifumi Onishi, Director of Toyota Industries, were invited as guests at the ceremony.

The introduction of the FC forklift at the New Kansai International Airport is part of the concept dealing with construction of the hydrogen grid. With an investment of about 60 million, Iwatani developed and installed the hydrogen filling facility adopted in “The Development and Testing of Induction Type Technology for Strengthening Measures for Reduction of CO2 Emission of 2014,” promulgated by the Ministry of the Environment.

The pressure of the hydrogen filling station is 35MPa. The high pressure hydrogen is to be supplied by cylinder from the Iwatani Gas plant in Amagasaki. The capacity of the hydrogen tank of the forklift is 57 liters. A forklift can move for about 8 hours with one filling and with a general operational ratio of 55%.

The FC forklift has several advantages. Compared to the electric forklift, the FC forklift can be filled with fuel more quickly of 3 minutes in the short space and space saving type can be made because no reserve battery is required. Because of this, plans call for the 400 forklifts currently in use at Kansai International Airport to be replaced by FC forklifts. Only one forklift will be brought in as of February 23 when operation is to begin. This year 2 additional forklifts will be in operation. The number will be increased in stages, with a target of 60 forklifts in 2016, and 200 in 2020. An FC forklift uses an amount of hydrogen equivalent to that used by 5 FC cars, so that if all of the 400 forklifts are swapped for the FC type, it is calculated that hydrogen equivalent to fuel 2,000 FC cars will have to be generated.

At the end of this year Iwatani will open the Iwatani Hydrogen Station at Kansai International Airport (provisional name), the first one at an airport in Japan for FC cars. As one of the hydrogen stations to be set up in advance, it is an off-site type which will supply liquid hydrogen transported by truck from the Iwatani Hydro-Edge plant in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture. It will be installed alongside the parking place on Second Island, open to the public coming to and going from the airport. Buses used at the airport and the limousine busses connecting with the airport are assumed to be the major users.

At the press conference held after the ceremony, Chairman Makino of Iwatani noted, “The installation of a hydrogen station at an airport is a progressive involvement unexampled not only in Japan but worldwide as well. I am very glad to have been able to participate in this undertaking. I’ll be doing my best to bring about the Hydrogen Society.”