TOKYO: Japan’s capital plans to invest 45.2 billion yen ($385 million) on fuel cell vehicle subsidies and hydrogen stations for the 2020 Olympics as part of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s plan to reduce Japan’s dependence on nuclear power.
Tokyo’s government will build 35 stations to fuel hydrogen-based fuel cell vehicles and is in talks with Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. to put 6,000 hydrogen cars on its roads by 2020, said Makoto Fujimoto, who heads the planning team at the metropolitan government’s energy department.
Japan is putting resources into hydrogen power after suffering its worst nuclear disaster since World War II in March 2011, when an earthquake and tsunami damaged the Fukushima Daiichi power plant. Spending on hydrogen infrastructure comes as Tokyo’s government is under pressure to rein in costs as it prepares to host the quadrennial games.
“The Olympics are a good opportunity to showcase new technologies,” said Hiroshi Takahashi, a research fellow at Fujitsu Research Institute. “It’s also a significant chance to attract new investment and update the city’s transportation system to make it fuel cell friendly.”
Last week, Toyota delivered its first Mirai fuel cell model to Abe. After a short test drive at his official residence, Abe declared it was “very comfortable” and said he wants “all ministries and agencies to have” the Mirai.
The Mirai meaning “future” in Japanese will be sold in California and Europe this year, can travel 300 miles on a single tank of hydrogen and refuel in three to five minutes. In the U.S., the Mirai’s sticker price will be $57,500.
