Panasonic and Tomy Collaborate in Transportation with CNG-Powered Trucks

2010.02.04 Thu

Panasonic Corp. and Tomy Co., Ltd., a major toy company in Japan, announced on October 22, 2009, that they have been conducting on-road trials of large, long-haul trucks fueled by compressed natural gas (CNG) since April 2009. This marks the first test of its kind in Japan. The truck was developed under the Next-Generation Low-Emission Vehicle Development Project by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. A total of 48 test drives had been carried out between the Kansai region and the Tokyo metropolitan region through September 30, 2009. Compared to transportation using conventional diesel trucks, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions were reduced by 10 percent and NOx emissions were reduced by 90 percent, while emissions of suspended particulates were reduced to almost zero.

This CNG truck is the only truck allowed to drive on public roads in Japan for field testing. The CNG truck was developed under the project to create next-generation, low-emission vehicles featuring high power output, low emissions and fuel efficiency. The truck is capable of travelling over 600 kilometers on a single tank.

Panasonic and Tomy plan to carry out 250 joint transports in fiscal 2009, including round shipping by regular trucks. Of these, 96 trips are scheduled to be made using the large CNG truck. The joint operation is expected to eliminate empty cab transport, cutting 7,600 kilometers of mileage in FY 2009 which, when combined with the effects of the large CNG truck, will lead to 18 tons of reduction of CO2 emissions.

Synthetic Diesel Fuel Being Tested in Tokyo Transit Bus (Related JFS article)
http://www.japanfs.org/en/pages/028953.html
Hino Motors Develops Hybrid Truck with Contactless Power Transfer System (Related JFS article)
http://www.japanfs.org/en/pages/026017.html
Panasonic Corp. global site
http://panasonic.net/

Posted: 2010/02/04 06:00:15 AM