Three major car companies of Japan, Toyota Motor Corporation, Nissan Motors, and Honda Motors have planned to collaborate for accelerating the establishment of hydrogen station infrastructure for fuel cell vehicles (FCVs). The specific measures for this will be decided later by all three automobile giants.
It is crucial for FCVs to gain popularity and for this; the development of hydrogen station infrastructure and related assets is the need of the hour. Presently, efforts are being taken by various companies to enhance basic infrastructure for these stations but they also face several hurdles in their way as these FCVs are not very common on the road.
The government of Japan has already shown concerns for the strategic significance of hydrogen stations. They had formulated the roadmap for hydrogen and fuel cells in June 2014. Provision of subsidies and various ranges of policies have been drafted in order to promote activities that would generate a new series of demand for FCVs in future. This will also include the partial subsidy for the cost of operating hydrogen station. Also, the government is supporting installation of hydrogen station.
The collaboration of these three huge car companies would help in not only in the popularization of FCVs but also refueling option is included in their plan. Subsequently, they have recognized the need for automobile manufacturers to promote the growth of hydrogen station infrastructure alongside the government and infrastructure industries, with the aim of working towards achieving the goals of the above described Road Map, the source of the government’s subsidy support. The three automobile companies will give a careful look at concrete initiatives, such as writing a portion of the expenses involved in the operation and maintenance of hydrogen fuel stations.
FCVs are expected to play a key role in the drive towards making a hydrogen society and culture. Toyota, Nissan, and Honda are also aiming to contribute to bringing about such a society through ensuring the widespread use of FCVs.
