Tokyo Gas has successfully developed a high performance catalyst, and drastically improved a fuel process (for reforming natural gas into hydrogen) by using the new catalyst. The company has a plan to incorporate the new fuel processor into a next generation ENEFARM (residential fuel cell cogenerator). The new fuel processor is about 2/3 in volume, and almost halved in manufacturing cost when compared with the previous fuel processor). Those advantages result from significant simplification of the fuel processor structure and use of the new catalyst. Significant Simplification of Processor StructureThe structure of the previous fuel processor is complicated to improve the reforming efficiency. To cope with this, the company reduces the number of necessary parts to 1/3, and the total welding line length by 40% (when compared with those of the previous one). The reforming efficiency of the new fuel processor is equal to that of the previous one. Developed High Performance Catalyst As known, the fuel processor uses a catalyst for promoting the reforming reaction. To secure required performances, the old fuel processor needs much catalyst. This results in the large volume of the fuel processor. Where the new catalyst developed this time was used, the amount of catalyst required for the reforming was reduced by 30% to 50%. This results in considerable reduction of the processor volume and size, and the manufacturing cost. Tokyo Gas’s Fuel ProcessorTokyo Gas has developed the fuel processor as well as the fuel cell. October, 2000 – developed a 1-kW fuel processor of 83% (HHV)November, 2003 – processor structure was redesigned, the reforming efficiency was improved in low output condition, and the weight was halved. The company has licensed the result of developed technologies to Ebara-Ballard. An excellent environmentality of the fuel processor was proved in the large-scale demonstration test project of residential fuel cell cogenerators (started from 2005). The fuel processor technologies developed this time will be licensed to Ebara-Ballard and others. The next-generation ENEFARM by Tokyo Gas will be launched in the first half of 2010. The new ENEFARM will be featured by size reduction and reduced price.

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