Panasonic Tests Hydrogen Fuel Cell Heat for Air Conditioning

Osaka, Japan - Panasonic Corporation (6752.T) announced it has begun testing heat from pure hydrogen fuel cell generators as a source for absorption chillers, potentially improving energy efficiency in industrial applications.

The demonstration experiment, conducted at Panasonic's H2 KIBOU FIELD facility in Kusatsu City, Shiga Prefecture, aims to resolve the temperature gap between fuel cell heat output and absorption chiller requirements.

Panasonic improved its pure hydrogen fuel cell generators to produce heat at 70°C, up from 60°C, while developing a new absorption chiller that can operate at this lower temperature. 

The company aims to achieve 95% energy efficiency through this cogeneration system.

The experiment utilizes ten 5kW pure hydrogen fuel cell generators and one newly developed absorption chiller. 

Panasonic expects this setup to reduce air conditioning power consumption by 50% in the facility's administration building.

"This experiment is the industry's first attempt to use chilled water from the absorption chiller to achieve energy saving of commercial air conditioners," Panasonic stated in the release.

The company views this as a potential solution for utilizing industrial waste heat below 80°C, which accounts for approximately 70% of all industrial waste heat emitted from factories.

Panasonic plans to verify the marketability and effectiveness of this integrated heat utilization solution through the demonstration, which began in July 2024.

The project is part of Panasonic's broader environmental initiative, Panasonic GREEN IMPACT.

It aims to achieve net-zero CO2 emissions from all its operating companies by 2030 and contribute to reducing global CO2 emissions by more than 300 million tons by 2050.