Tokyo--Toshiba Corporation today announced that it has agreed to establish an international joint venture with International Fuel Cells Corporation (IFC) that will develop, manufacture, market, maintain and service fuel cell.

Under this agreement, Toshiba's current Fuel Cell Systems Division will form the core of a new company, to be named later, that will start operation in April 2001. The focus of operations will be on bringing proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEM) for residential and small sized commercial applications and 200kW phosphoric acid fuel cells (PAFC) for industrial and commercial applications to the Japanese and Asian markets. The new company and IFC will pool their technological resources and provide one another with components and complementary products that they will market separately. The new company is expected to commercialize its first PEM in 2004 and has the mission of becoming the world leader in PEM and PAFC fuel cells.

Concern over the impact of greenhouse gas emissions is promoting intensified interest in fuel cells as a clean, efficient electric power source. An increasing number of companies are working on fuel cell development, and global competition and cross-border alliances have contributed to faster technology development. PEM is seen as a particularly promising fuel cell with wide application.

Toshiba and United Technologies Corporation (UTC) of the United States have cooperated on PAFC development since they established IFC as a joint venture in 1985. Toshiba and IFC started sales and marketing of the world's first commercialized PAFC in 1996 and is now a world leader in this key fuel-cell technology.

Toshiba has pioneered major technologies for PEM, and had received support from the Ministry of International Trade and Industry and New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization since 1992. The company has manufacture 30kW and 1kW PEM test plants this year.

Outline of Joint Venture Company

Outline of IFC