Panasonic Powers Osaka Metro with Hydrogen Fuel Cell and Solar Energy System

This is the first time Panasonic has delivered a pure hydrogen fuel cell to a railway operator, and it has equipped the facility with not only fuel cells and solar panels but also remote monitoring tools via its Soranet platform and energy visualization services. “The facility will generate over 110,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity this year, equivalent to the power needs of 17 average households,” said the company during a press release.

So far, the electricity has been powering digital displays and event zones, but Osaka Metro’s Shun Nozuka confirmed that train operations are the long-term objective: “Running trains requires a lot of electricity, so we want to promote efforts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. We also want to expand the use of renewable energy sources.”

This comes amid a regional decarbonization push, with Hankyu and Hanshin Electric Railways already transitioning to renewable-supplied operations for select services across the Kansai rail network.