14 DAY TRIAL // Japan is struggling to improve its energy infrastructure, hoping to boost the field of renewables by exploiting the benefits of solar, methanol and fuel cell innovations. Eight months after the Fukushima disaster, authorities try to replace the nuclear power with alternatives displaying a higher safety level.
Panasonic started focusing its attention on fuel cells 12 years ago. Following this path, the company succeeded in implementing a fuel cell module at the Japanese Prime Minister’s home, six years ago, according to Triple Pundit.
The enterprise started selling their product on a large commercial scale in 2009, and now its innovations may have the power to change the way global economy depends on fossil fuel usage.
Their work relies on the latest technology, combined with the outstanding Japanese design. The system is based on the chemical reaction between hydrogen and water, as manufacturers manage to obtain electricity and hot water at the same time.
Recent improvements made the entire system more efficient, as Panasonic replaced the initial tanks with slimmer water containers.
As a result, the entire installation requires up to 50% less space than its predecessors. Also, it appears that experts found the key to an efficient manufacturing process, as they are now able to complete a fuel cell in less than 72 hours, while in the past such an operation required at least 318 hours of labor.
Panasonic's household fuel cell, Ene Farm, was released in April 2011. It is supposed to be an efficient green alternative due to its high environmental performance. According to Panasonic, the fuel cell highlights world's highest rated electricity generation efficiency of up to 40% and a heat recovery efficiency of up to 50%.
“Panasonic ENE FARM also has excellent installability and maintainability, and as an environment-friendly product, its design is harmonized with Japan's living environment. In addition, the remote control display size is now larger, making the electricity generation results and other data more easily visible,” according to the company's officials.
The current bump in the road Panasonic officials are mentioning is the high price of their invention. Their main goal is to figure out how to implement fuel cells on a large scale while lowering the total costs.
Its green technology with a life expectancy of up to 15 years, worth 2.7 million yen (about $30,000/ €22,308) is still far from becoming popular, despite the beneficial governmental support it is presently experiencing.
Even if such an innovation would help consumers decrease their energy bill, Panasonic still has a lot of work ahead until it manages to guide Japan's steps on the right path to energy independence.