Japan's Matsushita, others to mass-produce consumer fuel cells

Japan's Matsushita, others to mass-produce consumer fuel cells - report

	Published : Mon, 26 Nov 2007 23:23 By : Agencies Print this Story

TOKYO (Thomson Financial) - Matsushita Electric Industrial Co Ltd, Japan's largest consumer electronics maker, Ebara Corp and Toshiba Corp are planning to mass-produce residential-use fuel cells within the next several years, the Nikkei reported Tuesday without citing sources.

Matsushita, which has been making consumer-grade fuel cells at a development facility in Osaka Prefecture, now plans to build a dedicated facility in Shiga Prefecture at cost of 1-2 billion yen, the business daily said.

The new plant is expected to go on-stream in the year to March 2009, initially turning out 1,000 to 2,000 units a year, it said.

Annual production will be ramped up to 10,000 units as early as the year to March 2011.

Machinery maker Ebara will expand its Fujisawa plant in Kanagawa Prefecture, enabling the production of 1,500 units compatible with either city gas or kerosene starting in the year to March 2009, the report said.

The company will raise capacity to 10,000 units a year as early as the year to March 2010, it said.

Toshiba Fuel Cell Power Systems Corp, a unit of electronics giant Toshiba, will finalize production plans in the current fiscal year, while Nippon Oil Corp is expected to acquire Sanyo Electric Co's fuel cell operations, the Nikkei said.

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Japan's Matsushita, others to mass-produce consumer fuel cells - report