Japan: Climate Pact Drives "Green" Car Technology

Copyright 1999, InterPress Service
November 2, 1999

TOKYO, (Nov. 2) IPS - Spectators milling about the 33rd Tokyo Motor Show inspected a wide range of "environmental" vehicles, applauded by activists who have long lobbied the auto industry to take more responsibility for its role in global warming.

"The auto industry is facing strict regulations that call for reducing air polluting emissions," explains Professor Takuya Homma, who is in charge of fuel cell battery technology at Tsukuba University.

Thus, "the development of the low-emission vehicle with reduced production costs is at the heart of its survival," he says.

At centre stage at the motor show, which opened Oct 23 and ends Nov 3, was the fuel cell vehicle, an electric car that is equipped with fuel cells that function as power generators.

The pollution-free fuel cell vehicles are powered by liquid hydrogen, which is stored in a cryogenic cylinder of battery at the rear of the vehicle.

Technological breakthroughs in the past few years have made it possible for this car to reach top speeds of 90 mph, and to travel nearly 280 miles before refueling.

The acceleration of research and development into environment- friendly cars has been driven by pressure from the green lobby, and the legally binding requirements on Japan to cut production of greenhouse gases by 2010.

Those requirements were set at the Kyoto conference on climate change in 1996. Since then, the use of hybrid cars has risen from 320 to 31,000 units and the cars' popularity has led to projections that sales will reach 51,000 soon.

Still, according to Hiroki Mochida of the Japan Automobile Motor Corporation, the cost of making such cars remains high.

The hydride battery for electric vehicles alone costs some $14,420 per car. The even higher cost of the fuel cell battery, and other technical issues, means that everyday use of alternative cars is not a probability for at least a decade.

But as pressure on Japan and industrialized countries grow to meet their specific carbon dioxide emission targets, car companies are expected to increase research and development budgets to meet deadlines and become more competitive.

Already, leading manufacturers are pouring more resources into developing 'greener' cars.

Toyota has announced a 50 billion yen ($480.7 million) budget for developing alternative engines and improving conventional power plant efficiency.

According to the Japan Automobile Motor Association, "alternative cars" that use energy sources other than petroleum such as natural gas, electricity, hydrogen or solar energy, offer reduced emissions of around one-fourth that of regular cars.

That may be a sizable proportion given that the transport industry, according to the Japanese Environmental Agency, is responsible for producing nearly 20 percent of Japan's emissions of carbon dioxide.

A report on greenhouse gas figures for fiscal 1998 by the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies, which is affiliated with the government, shows that emissions from coal and heavy oil used by industry dropped by more than 5 percent from 1997.

But, significantly, emissions from natural gas and gasoline, mostly for private use increased by 9 percent and 2.6 percent respectively, the report notes.

The Kyoto Convention on Climate Change set targets for cuts in carbon dioxide emissions by industrialized countries, with a 6 percent reduction to be made by Japan in emissions of six gases including carbon dioxide, oxides of nitrogen (NOX) and hydrocarbons.

All are to be achieved by 2010, using 1990 as the base year.

Under the same accord, Japanese carmakers are required to cut tailpipe emissions by about 20 percent, a level that the industry says seems unattainable.

The Japanese auto industry has warned that for these goals to be met, new and affordable technologies must be developed and the government must offer bigger incentives for ownership of alternative vehicles.

But the push for cleaner technology has been causing shifts in the automotive industry.

Noriyuki Matsushima, at Nikko Salomon Smith Barney Limited, a specialist on the global auto industry, points out that the desire to save costs in environmental technology development is a major reason why auto firms are merging and or forging alliances.

He points to the recent alliance between France's Renault and Nissan, which he says is based on, among other concerns for Renault, the company's desire to acquire Nissan's strength in environmental technology.

Another example is the collaboration between Japan's Mitsubishi Motors, a world leader in the gasoline direct-injection engine that is fuel efficient, and Peugeot of France, to which Mitsubishi will provide this technology.

At the Tokyo motor show, Toyota Motor Company and General Motors announced joint research toward the development of the next-generation hybrid cars.

"Otherwise (both companies) chances for survival would be low," Matshushima says in a report published in June.

Also at the motor show, Japanese automobile companies displayed a varied range of hybrid vehicles which combine conventional engines with electric vehicles and thus reduce fuel consumption, which in turn cuts carbon dioxide emissions.

Suzuki President Osamu Suzuki unveiled the sporty, two-seat electric mini-car, designed by Suzuki and powered by General Motors' latest EV motor. This is a 400-cc, clean-burn engine that runs 35 km per liter.

Roger Sherifler, an expert on the Japanese motor industry, observes that at this juncture, the auto industry tends to follow one of two lines of reasoning.

"One held by Toyota advocates an across-the-board move toward environmental vehicles and clean fuels," he explains. "The other, held by Honda, and to a lesser extent Mitsubishi Motors, focuses on improving the efficiency of conventional internal- combustion engines."