Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd. (Japan) and Ebara Corp. (Japan) have separately developed fuel cell stacks that can operate for longer than 10,000 hours, realizing the dream of using fuel cells as the power source in homes for electricity and hot water. Although fuel cell systems for emergency power applications are already available for homes, such systems last for only around 1,500 hours.
With their new long-lasting technologies, Matsushita and Ebara both intend to commercialize residential fuel cell systems that can operate for three years before any parts need replacing. Matsushita and Ebara are both developing fuel cell systems that provide around 1 kw of power, which meets the basic power demands of a stand-alone home.
The companies' fuel cell systems are designed to extract hydrogen from city gas, so not surprisingly both firms plan to market their products via gas companies. Tokyo Gas Co. will begin sales in the greater Tokyo area in the first quarter of 2005, and Osaka Gas Co. plans to begin sales by March 2006.
