Tokyu Construction Co., Ltd. and Teijin Limitedtoday announced completion of a trial of hydrogen fuel cell generators as power sources at a construction site around Tokyo's Shibuya Station.
The successful trial, which ran from late June to mid-July 2023, evaluated reductions of noise and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions achieved by using hydrogen fuel cell generators instead of conventional gasoline generators. It revealed that the hydrogen fuel cell generators reduced noise from approximately 80 decibels to 60 decibels (*) compared to gasoline generators. It also cut CO2 emissions approximately 6kg (reference range) in ten hours, or more than 1,000 kg per year.
According to a study regarding "the Results of a Survey for Establishing Guidelines for Noise Levels in cities and suburbs in Tokyo" by the Noise Research Subcommittee of the National Environmental Research Council Japan, published in 2009 in the Journal of Environmental Laboratories Association (Vol. 34, No. 4, pp. 254-261), the noise level inside a game arcade is approximately 80 decibels, while the noise level inside a museum is approximately 60 decibels. The measurement and evaluation methods used in the trial by Tokyu Construction and Teijin is not the same as the one used by the National Environmental Research Council Japan.
In addition to testing noise and emissions, Tokyu Construction and Teijin verified the workability and portability of the fuel cell and pressure vessel units. No special equipment was required to load and unload the fuel cell and pressure vessel units onto a vehicle for transport to the Shibuya construction office. In addition, one worker was able to carry the individual units approximately 300 meters from the office to the construction site.
