Mar. 13, 1989

TOYOTA TO EXHIBIT HYDROGEN-FUELED FORKLIFT AT '89 HANOVER MESSE

Toyota City―TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION announced today that it will exhibit a clean-burning, hydrogen-fueled forklift at the '89 Hanover Messe, scheduled to be held from April 5 to 12 in Hanover, West Germany. The Toyota MH Forklift, a demonstration model, employs a metal hydride (MH) alloy for fuel storage/release and was jointly developed by Toyoda Automatic Loom Works, Ltd. and Nippon Steel Corporation.

The use of hydrogen as a fuel greatly reduces exhaust pollutants produced during combustion, with emissions mostly composed of steam. At the same time, the use of a metal hydride allows for greater efficiency in fuel storage and superior safety.

In its hydrogen storage reservoir, the forklift uses an iron and titanium MH alloy in powder form. The metal hydride, when cooled or pressurized in a hydrogen atmosphere, absorbs hydrogen, but when heated or depressurized the alloy releases the gas.

Many technical problems remain to be solved before the MH Forklift can be commercialized. However, Toyota is exhibiting the demonstration model as a practical example of the efforts being made to employ new technologies to resolve environmental problems, as well as cope with possible future energy changes.

Toyota also plans to display the MH Forklift at the '89 International Mechanical Handling Exhibition in Harumi, Tokyo from May 8 to 11.

Outline of the MH Forklift

What is a metal hydride?: When cooled or pressurized in a hydrogen atmosphere, the alloy reacts with hydrogen, massively absorbing hydrogen into its metal crystal lattices and emitting heat at the same time. When heated or depressurized, however, the hydrogen is released, and heat absorbed.

Among the variety of metal hydrides, the alloy used for the forklift is made chiefly of iron and titanium.

In comparison with other methods, this MH-based method of hydrogen production and storage has a greater volumetric efficiency and excels in safety.

Outline of Hanover Messe: The Hanover Messe is the world's largest industrial exhibition; it is held every April, with more than 10 specialized sample exhibitions in different areas of industry.
It attracts more than 800,000 buyers and users from 70 countries around the world, and exhibitors number more than 5,500.

Since 1971, Toyota has participated in every one of the biannual "CeMAT" exhibitions for industrial equipment, and this is its 10th entry. Toyota is scheduled to exhibit, in addition to the MH Forklift, nine current models (ranging from 1.25 to 5.0 tons).