Woven Planet and Toyota develop portable hydrogen cartridge

The hydrogen cartridge, currently in working prototype form, is designed for the daily transport and supply of hydrogen for homes and other applications.

Woven Planet, Toyota’s subsidiary which is developing the prototype future city Woven City, and Toyota are planning to conduct proof of concept trials in various locations, including the Woven City in Shizuoka Prefecture, where green hydrogen production is being investigated.

The cartridge has emerged out of a plan by Toyota and Woven Planet together with the Japanese petroleum giant Eneos Corporation to develop a hydrogen supply chain spanning from production to daily usage.

The prototype 400mm in length and 180mm in diameter with a target capacity of 5kg is intended to provide an affordable and easily fillable portable container with volume flexibility for transporting hydrogen without the need for piping.

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Applications envisaged range from daily use both within and outside the home to remote and non-electrified areas in times of disaster.

With electricity generated by a typical fuel cell system, one hydrogen cartridge should be able to generate enough electricity to operate a typical household microwave for up to 4 hours, the companies say.

Toyota and Woven Planet report studying a number of viable pathways to carbon neutrality and consider hydrogen to be a promising solution.

Trials with the hydrogen cartridges will focus on meeting the energy needs of Woven City residents and those living in its surrounding communities, with testing of an array of energy applications including mobility and within households as well as other future possibilities yet to be determined.

The demonstrations also will be aimed to improve the hydrogen cartridge itself, making it increasingly easy to use and improving the energy density.

Multiple types of receptacles also will be considered in the future, based on further application research over time, say the companies, which hope to develop best practices to incorporate clean hydrogen into daily life.