Air Liquide Japan (ALJ) completed Kobe Shichinomiya hydrogen (H2) Station which had been under construction in Kobe City, Hyogo, and started operation on April 3. 　Before the start of operation an opening ceremony was held on March 30, inviting Toshizo Ido governor of Hyogo Prefecture and Kizo Hisamoto mayor of Kobe City.

It is ALJ’s fifth domestic H2 station of its own management for commercial use following those in Aichi, Fukuoka and Saga Prefectures.

ALJ constructed the facility based on the adoption by the Next Generation Vehicle Promotion Center (NEV) of “H2 Supply Support Project for FCV 2016.” The invested amount of 500 million yen (estimated) consists of a subsidy granted for half of the construction cost by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and a fund of 50 million yen from Kobe City.

It is the first H2 station in Kobe City that is located at the westernmost location in the Kinki regional zone. Air Liquide Japan President Shiro Yahara says, “We wish to contribute to the diffusion of FCV over the Kinki and Chugoku/Shikoku areas by the construction of H2 station”.

He added that the biggest feature of the station positioned as “H2 Station Model in Urban Area” is the most compact scale (approx. 280 square meter) of all ALJ’s H2 stations constructed in the past. President Yahara also pointed out that the metropolitan areas in particular are apt to cause restrictions to procure lands for stations and it is an issue for infrastructure manufacturers how to build up a station in such a limited land.

ALJ, therefore, tried to reduce the area of site by means of installing part of the components on the roof (canopy).

Concretely, the compressor, accumulator and dispenser of the basic components for H2 station are installed on the ground floor, while the utility facilities like pre-cooling facilities such as freezer, water tank, spray pump and pressure converter are mounted on the canopy, making the structure two-storied. Engineering was carried out by Mitsubishi Kakoki Kaisha. Such a three-dimensional structure has been introduced to an H2 station for the first time in Japan.

The station is capable to fill six FCVs per hour equipped with the reciprocating compressor made by Kaji Technology of 340Nm3/h and the three-bank accumulator of Type 3 (300ℓ × 4) made by Samtech.

It is forecasted that the demand for H2 supply to the station of off-site type will grow in the future. H2 is transported by an H2 trailer and the cylinder component is used as curdle inside the station.

For information the working hours of the station are from 9:30 to 17:00 on Mondays through Fridays.The selling price of H2 is 1,200 yen per kg (excluding tax).