Japan’s Hydrogen Olympics
Connor Dolan
Over the past decade, Japan has been steadily emerging as one of the world’s leaders in hydrogen and fuel cell technology. Given the country’s lack of domestic energy resources, hydrogen is seen by many Japanese leaders in government and private sector as a means to transition the economy to utilizing this clean, efficient, and reliable technology to address climate change, provide for energy security, and power homes, businesses, and transportation.
In September 2019, the Japanese government hosted delegations from over 30 countries for the global Hydrogen Ministerial Meeting in Tokyo. At the Ministerial, the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) and other attendees reaffirmed the view that hydrogen can be a key contributor to clean, safe and affordable energy for the future. In addition, the group announced a need to encourage increased global awareness of hydrogen “by utilizing high profile events, such as the Tokyo Olympics, and other venues where hydrogen is featured.”
Though the contest will be delayed by one year, we wanted to take this opportunity to highlight how Japan will be using the Tokyo Olympics as a platform to showcase the country’s commitment to hydrogen and the potential of this transformational fuel. Hydrogen will be used throughout the international competition to bring greater awareness to the world.
“The 1964 Tokyo Olympics left the Shinkansen high-speed train system as its legacy. The upcoming Olympics will leave a hydrogen society as its legacy.”
Hydrogen Olympic Flame
The most iconic symbol of the Olympics is the torch and flame. To highlight hydrogen at the games, the Tokyo Olympic Committee revealed that it will be using hydrogen as fuel for the olympic flame. In a nod to the country’s past and plans for the future, the hydrogen will be produced from a solar array located in the Fukushima prefecture. Prior to 2011, 30% of the country’s electricity was provided by nuclear power, after the Fukushima nuclear power plant incident in March 2011, that number today is just 2%. By using fuel provided from that town, Japan is demonstrating its commitment to a hydrogen-powered future.
Hydrogen Olympic Village
Another constant of the Olympics over the years is the Olympic village, which acts as home to the thousands of athletes traveling from around the world during the competition. The Olympic Village will be located in the city of Tokyo and will act as a miniature hydrogen society. Hydrogen will be used to provide the electricity for the dormitories and power fuel cell buses to ferry the athletes between venues around the city. Following the Games, the high-rise buildings will be sold to the public to showcase and continue the country’s commitment to a hydrogen economy.
Hydrogen Buses
As Japan’s largest automaker and key sponsor of the Olympic games, Toyota will be supplying 100 hydrogen fuel cell buses (FCB) to the Tokyo metropolitan area to shuttle athletes and visitors around the Olympic competition. The Sora bus, which Toyota began selling in 2018, is powered by two 111 kW fuel cell stacks and fueled by ten hydrogen tanks totaling 600 liters. Each bus also has a 235-kWh external power supply for use as an emergency power source in case of disasters, illustrating the flexibility of fuel cell technology.
Hydrogen Cars
In addition to the Sora fuel cell buses, Toyota is providing 500 of its Mirai fuel cell vehicles to help transport staff, high-level officials, and other VIPs around the Olympic Games. As of November 2019, there were over 3,500 fuel cell vehicles in operation across Japan.
In November 2018, the International Olympic Committee President, Thomas Bach, was hosted by Akio Toyoda, President of Toyota Motor Corporation, during a visit to Toyota’s research and development facility in Shizuoka, Japan. At the facility, Mr. Bach rode on the Sora fuel cell bus and drove the Mirai around the test track in the shadow of Mount Fuji. Afterwards, Mr. Toyoda said:
“What Mr. Bach and the IOC saw today is just a glimpse of the kind of mobility that will be available around and between the venues throughout Tokyo during the Olympic Games. The Olympic Movement gives us a fantastic opportunity to imagine and propose the future of mobility, in the spirit of challenge and teamwork to which we equally aspire. I’m really excited to see it.”
— Akio Toyoda, President, Toyota Motor Corporation
In June 2019, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Toyota announced the delivery of eight Mirai vehicles to the IOC's new headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Hydrogen Fueling
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government plans to have at least 35 hydrogen fueling stations in operation in the city by the start of the Olympics, with 80 stations and 100,000 fuel cell cars on the roads of the capital by 2025. Today there are more than 130 hydrogen stations in operation across Japan and the government has a goal to increase that number to at least 160 stations by the end of the year.
The Japanese government recognizes the ability of hydrogen to transform its own economy, as well as those around the world. The Tokyo Olympics provides a tremendous opportunity for the country to raise awareness of the potential of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies and showcase its progress and commitment to the world.