Komatsu aims for lead in hydrogen-powered mining trucks
The company will start its hydrogen development program in 2021 and aims to have the trucks ready for practical use by 2030.
This effort to bring hydrogen power, which has made inroads into buses and road trucks, to mining comes as Komatsu customers seek to strip as much carbon dioxide emissions as they can from their business.
Some mining trucks run on electricity from overhead power lines, but most are diesel-powered. Using hydrogen as a fuel has the benefit of letting zero-emissions trucks travel on routes where power lines do not reach.
Weighing 600 tons or more when loaded, mining trucks are huge even compared with buses. In terms of hydrogen power, they present a different level of technical challenges than everyday fuel cell vehicles.
Costs pose another hurdle. Komatsu plans to procure fuel cells for its hydrogen-powered trucks from outside suppliers. Fuel cell stacks used in electricity generation are expensive. But mass production is expected to bring down their prices if they are used in a broader range of applications.
Mining equipment accounts for roughly 40% of Komatsu's sales. The rival of U.S.-based Caterpillar and China's Sany has taken steps to make itself more competitive in this field, including its 2017 acquisition of American mining machinery maker Joy Global.
- Nikkei
US and Japan to invest $4.5bn in next-gen 6G race with China
Nikkei - Apr 18
U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga have agreed to jointly invest $4.5 billion for the development of next-generation communication known as 6G, or "beyond 5G."
Japanese fried chicken enters period of Warring States
JapanNutrition.com - Apr 17
Japanese fried chicken, or "Karaage," is in a period of Warring States, with a bunch of new stores opening nationwide, including 678 just last year!
Japan bets on hydrogen to lift its ambitious carbon-neutral plans
washingtonpost.com - Apr 16
NAMIE, Japan — Japan has ambitious plans to be entirely carbon-neutral by 2050. Trouble is: It has no clear vision of how to get there.
Coca-Cola starts drink subscription service in Japan
newsonjapan.com - Apr 15
A new subscription service is now available for vending machines in Japan.
Egypt demands $900 million for Suez Canal blockage
NHK - Apr 15
Egyptian authorities are demanding the Japanese owner of the cargo ship that blocked the Suez Canal for almost a week last month to pay about 900 million dollars in compensation.
Japan banks face volatility, default risks offshore in hunt for higher returns
spglobal.com - Apr 15
As returns-hungry Japanese banks may lend or invest even more abroad after a record year of 2020, the lenders face rising risk of defaults and market volatility in their growing overseas operations, analysts warn.
ANA to start drone delivery service as Japan eases regulations
Nikkei - Apr 15
Japanese airline group ANA Holdings will launch a drone delivery service in the fiscal year through March 2023, using a vehicle developed by a German startup to carry daily necessities and medicines to Japan's remote islands and mountainous regions, Nikkei has learned.
Toshiba head quits after buyout offer
Kyodo - Apr 14
The head of Japanese industrial giant Toshiba has stepped down. President and CEO Kurumatani Nobuaki's resignation comes days after the company got a buyout offer from a UK-based investment fund that he had ties to.
Japan's ketchup king joins Xinjiang boycott with tomato ban
Nikkei - Apr 14
NAGOYA, Japan -- Leading Japanese ketchup producer Kagome has stopped importing tomatoes from China's Xinjiang, Nikkei learned Tuesday, joining the growing ranks of Western brands that have ceased sourcing materials from the region over reported abuses against Uyghur Muslims.
Japan retailer Muji downplays concerns over Xinjiang cotton
Nikkein - Apr 14
Muji brand owner Ryohin Keikaku on Wednesday detailed its steps to address concerns over its use of cotton produced in Xinjiang, as it looks to avoid being caught up in allegations over the use of forced labor in the western Chinese region.
Japan wholesale prices rise for first time in more than a year, stoked by commodities surge
Japan Today - Apr 14
Japanese wholesale prices marked their first annual increase in more than a year in March, a sign that rising commodities costs are pinching corporate margins and adding inflationary pressure to the world's third-largest economy.
Benefits of starting lottery business
newsonjapan.com - Apr 14
The global economic crises have crushed the markets and every business is struggling for survival.
A 4-day workweek? Japan gives the idea serious consideration
Nikkei - Apr 13
More Japanese lawmakers and businesses are throwing their support behind shorter workweeks to give families more time to take care of children and older family members, as well as to adapt to a world where remote work is increasingly common.
CVC Capital's bid for Toshiba exposes pervasive conflicts of interest
Nikkei - Apr 13
The reported $20 billion bid to take Toshiba private from U.K.-based private equity fund CVC Capital Partners has the investment community abuzz: Will CEO Nobuaki Kurumatani actually be allowed to pull it off and escape the nets that are encircling him?
Japan's 'izakaya' dining bars, wedding halls feeling COVID pinch
Reuters - Apr 10
TOKYO - The number of Japan's "izakaya" dining bars that went bankrupt hit a record high in the year that ended in March, a sign some service-sector firms are being left behind even as the economy emerges from the shock of the coronavirus pandemic.
Tesla sales in Japan rise 1,300% year-over-year, propelled by a wave of Model 3 orders
teslarati.com - Apr 09
Tesla is starting to gain some serious momentum in Japan, thanks to a wave of Model 3 orders.
