Tokyo Unveils Project to Accelerate Use of Hydrogen, Launches Fuel-Cell Taxis

Governor Koike attended an event on September 3, which announced a project to accelerate the use of hydrogen in fuel-cell commercial mobility and other applications. The event was twinned with a ceremony for the launch of fuel-cell taxis.  

She was accompanied by Sato Koji and Makino Akiji, Co-chairmen of the Japan Hydrogen Association, and Kawanabe Ichiro, Chairman of the Tokyo Hire-Taxi Association, at the event where the project’s name, TOKYO H2, was unveiled.

“Striving for a bright future, we are faced with extremely crucial challenges such as coping with the increasingly severe climate crisis and securing stable energy supply,” Governor Koike told the event. “Hydrogen holds a key to decarbonization. Today, we have finally kicked off TOKYO H2 that will accelerate action using hydrogen.”

“As the first step, we aim to deploy about 600 fuel-cell taxis by the fiscal year 2030. This large-scale deployment will be unprecedented in the country,” she said. “Let us together accelerate action prompting everyone to use hydrogen, while seeing fuel-cell taxis roam around the streets of Tokyo and seeing people feel at home in a society with hydrogen.”

“The future we envision is ‘Tokyo: A Hydrogen Society Proudly Presented to the World,’” Governor Koike noted. “Together with you, we will spread the word about Tokyo's challenges for the future and pass them on to the next generation. We aim to build such a sustainable city.”