MHI has been developing Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC) and Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells (PEFC), and on June 18 was entrusted by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), an independent administrative agency, with two government projects1 related to SOFCs. Further, on June 11, the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), an independent administrative institution, was successful in the Deep-Sea Cruising Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Urashima ”world's first long-distance autonomous cruise powered by fuel cell of 220km”. The Urashima is equipped with one of MHI's fully sealed PEFC systems3.
There are further plans to set up SOFC 50kW Cogeneration Systems2 to supply power to the Japan Pavilion and the Wonder Circus – Electric Power Pavilion at the Japan World Exposition (Expo 2005 Aichi, Japan), which is to be held from March 25 next year.

MHI has focused its attention on fuel cells, and in particular, has focused its technological development on the practical application of medium-scale distributed generation and large-scale alternate thermal systems in large-scale SOFCs. Using their assignment to the project and success as a step, MHI hopes to take the lead in the development of fuel cells, and add more impetus to their practical application.

Fuel cells are generators that produce electricity from hydrogen and oxygen, and they are highly efficient generators in converting chemical energy directly into electrical energy. Attention to their development is being drawn all around the world because they can also use the heat that comes from the generation of electrical energy and because the burden on the environment (NOx, SOx, noise vibrations) is low.

In particular, the SOFC can use fuels from natural gas to gasified coal, and from a combined cycle with a gas turbine, is expected to be able to generate electricity with an efficiency of the highest level in the world: 70% (LHV: lower heating value) with a natural gas flame and 60% (LHV) with a coal gas flame.

3.

Outline of PEFC for Urashima e. Urashima's actual coastal water (Suruga Bay) experiment commenced on June 9. The trial was for the vehicle to cruise unmanned around two fixed north/south points in an area measuring 2 km east-west and 25 km north-south. At a depth of 800m, a total autonomous non-stop cruise of 220 km was achieved. PEFC Details Output : 4 kW (2 kW x 2 stacks) Operating temperature : 60 °C Generation efficiency : 54 % Fuel : Pure hydrogen and pure oxygen f. Urashima specifications Vehicle length : approximately 10 m Breadth : approx. 1.3 m Height : approx. 1.5 m Weight in air : approx. 10 ton Maximum submergible depth : 3,500 m Cruising speed : 3 knot medium-scale 200kW-class cogeneration system that utilizes a MOLB-type flat SOFC cell 350 kW-class combined cycle system that is linked to a micro gas turbine, which utilizes a cylindrical striped SOFC cell