FCVs Using Fukushima Hydrogen Start Promotional Runs in Tokyo

Tokyo, Jan. 31 (Jiji Press)--The Tokyo metropolitan government kicked off on Thursday promotional runs of fuel cell vehicles using hydrogen fuel produced in Fukushima Prefecture ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics. An event to celebrate the start of the vehicle runs in Tokyo was attended by Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike and Fukushima Governor Masao Uchibori. The two said they will continue working together to make the games an opportunity to highlight progress with the prefecture's reconstruction from the 2011 massive earthquake, tsunami and subsequent nuclear disaster at Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.'s <9501> Fukushima No. 1 power plant. The vehicles run on hydrogen manufactured in Koriyama in the northeastern prefecture by the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, or AIST. According to metropolitan government officials, no carbon dioxide is released from the vehicles or the fuel production process as the hydrogen is made through water electrolysis using electricity generated by solar and other clean power. Five fuel cell vehicles are used in the project. For about a week, they will make the rounds of tourist spots in Tokyo, including Tokyo Tower and Ueno Zoo, to build momentum for the 2020 Games, highlighting Fukushima's revival. "We'll impress the world by demonstrating Tokyo's strength as an eco-friendly city," Koike said, adding that fuel cell vehicles using Fukushima hydrogen will be used at the Athletes' Village. "We hope to deliver a message that we'll help Fukushima Prefecture with work toward reconstruction, even just a little," she added. Uchibori said that using Fukushima-made, CO2-free hydrogen at the Tokyo Games "will be a symbol" for the Olympics and Paralympics focusing on the postdisaster reconstruction efforts. END