The Japanese Ministry of the Environment(MOE) is planning a new project to support the installation of fuel cells at elementary and junior high schools, aiming to promote the use of small and medium-sized fuel cells. The ministry included this plan in its budgetary request for fiscal 2005 submitted to the Finance Ministry on August 30, 2004.

For this project the ministry is targeting commercial fuel cells ranging from 2 to 10 kW. The ministry envisages installing about one fuel cell in each of 47 prefectures, totaling some 50 over two years. As a first step, a budget of 100 million yen (about U.S.$900,000) for 10 fuel cells was proposed for fiscal 2005.

The support details of the project are yet to be finalized, but the ministry is considering assisting local governments and fuel cell manufacturers. The budget for this project is still on the table. Whether the project will be approved or not will be known toward the end of December 2004.

The ministry expects that the introduction of fuel cells to schools will help spread information from schools to local communities and contribute to education about technologies for a hydrogen-based society in the future. The ministry also expects that the project will benefit fuel cell manufacturers, leading to technological progress by accumulating data through practical use.




Posted: 2005/01/18 12:21:51 PM
Japanese version

TAG Energy , Government , Local government , System/Law