TANAKA Expands FC Catalyst Production Capacity

Jul 16, 2018 07:00 JST

Source: TANAKA PRECIOUS METAL GROUP Co., Ltd.

- 7x current capacity - to meet future demand from China and Europe

TOKYO, Jul 16, 2018 - (ACN Newswire) - TANAKA Precious Metals (TANAKA Kikinzoku Kogyo) has announced a major expansion at its Fuel Cell (FC) Catalyst Development Center, located on the grounds of the Shonan Plant in Kanagawa Prefecture. TANAKA already commands top global share in the fuel cell catalyst market, yet it has invested 4 billion yen to increase production capability by 7-times in the freshly enlarged Development Center. Scheduled for completion on July 18, the new Center is scheduled for full-scale operation in January 2019.

The new fuel cell catalyst materials center

Electrode catalyst for PEFC

The new 3,000m2 facilities seem spacious and modern beside the existing 1,000m2 structure, with new shipping and warehouse facilities combining with the catalyst production facilities. As a result, TANAKA will be able to provide stable supplies of electrode catalyst in response to rising demand for precious metal electrode catalysts, having grown in tandem with expanding fuel cell markets and facilitating development of a hydrogen society.

China recently announced its support for developing hydrogen energy for fuel cell vehicles as a strategic industry, while the city of Shanghai announced a subsidy plan for purchasing fuel cell vehicles and the establishment of R&D facilities. The global move away from diesel vehicles is accelerating in Europe, and there are development areas for new transportation including hydrogen-powered trains, marine craft and unmanned or connected vehicles. Steadily growing global demand for fuel cells and electrode catalyst show no signs of slowing, and TANAKA has responded firmly.

TANAKA will maintain a stable supply of fuel cell electrode catalysts into the future, while focusing on its research and development program. As the leading provider of precious metal fuel cell catalysts for more than a half-century, TANAKA continues to contribute responsibly to the wider adoption of fuel cells and the development of a hydrogen-based society.

TANAKA's Fuel Cell Electrode Catalysts

TANAKA's FC Catalyst Development Center develops and manufactures electrode catalysts for 'polymer electrolyte fuel cells' (PEFCs). PEFCs are an exciting new technology, used in household 'ENE FARM' fuel cells and in fuel cell vehicles (FCVs). However PEFC use is expected to expand to grow to the fields of industrial machinery, such as FC forklifts, and commercial vehicles, such as FC buses.

PEFC's are small, lightweight, high-powered, and a new environmentally-friendly technology that uses a simple chemical reaction of hydrogen and oxygen. TANAKA combined precious metal catalytic technology, and electrochemical technologies cultivated over the years, to have developed a highly-active platinum catalyst for cathode (air electrode), and a platinum alloy catalyst resistant to carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning for anode (fuel electrodes).

About the TANAKA KIKINZOKU Group

The TANAKA KIKINZOKU Group consists of 30 companies, namely 6 domestic and 24 overseas companies. As a Group of precious metals specialist covering various fields focus on precious metals, we correspond to the needs of each customer by deploying a high level of services through close partnership and well-established system.
Core companies of the TANAKA Group are:
-- TANAKA HOLDINGS Co., Ltd.
-- TANAKA KIKINZOKU KOGYO K.K.
-- TANAKA DENSHI KOGYO K.K.
-- ELECTROPLATING ENGINEERS O JAPAN Ltd.
-- Metalor Technologies International SA
-- TANAKA KIKINZOKU JEWELRY K.K.
Learn about the TANAKA Group at http://www.tanaka.co.jp/english and the Group's Industrial Products at http://pro.tanaka.co.jp/en.

Press inquiries:
TANAKA HOLDINGS Co., Ltd.
[URL]: https://www.tanaka.co.jp/en/protanaka/inquiry/index.php
[PDF]: http://www.acnnewswire.com/clientreports/598/180710_EN.pdf

Source: TANAKA PRECIOUS METAL GROUP Co., Ltd.
Sectors: Materials & Nanotech, Alternative Energy, Engineering, Automation [IoT]