Original subtitles

[narrator] On "Tomorrow's World Today," we explore

the cutting edge advances

that are shaping four different worlds --

the world of inspiration, where the wonders of

the natural world amaze and inspire us.

The world of creation, where ideas come to life

from traditional arts.

The world of innovation, where ideas and inventions

move us all forward.

The world of production, where innovations are

mass-produced to improve our lives.

From Inventionland World Headquarters, here's your host,

George Davison.

For over a century, the automotive industry's been

a driving force of innovation and progress, always working to

be more efficient.

This industry's dedicated to streamlining production,

minimizing waste, and enhancing performance.

So, let's fast forward to today, and what we see are

automakers making all sorts of technological advances.

From the beginning of a design process to integrating

renewable energy sources to power vehicles.

So I'm gonna send Tamara to the world of production so

we can take a closer look.

In the race to achieve zero carbon emissions, companies are

setting ambitious carbon neutrality goals and creating

innovative projects to achieve them.

I'm here today at Toyota Logistics Services

in Long Beach, California,

where we're going to explore a first of

its kind station that uses electric fuel cell technology

to create renewable energies.

It's called Trigen, and they use biogas to create

three products -- renewable electricity,

renewable hydrogen, and usable water.

This approach is set to revolutionize vehicle

processing operations at the Port of Long Beach

and serves as a scalable model for reducing emissions for

various industries, creating a greener,

cleaner future.

To get things started, I'm gonna head inside and meet

with Mark Yamauchi, Environmental and Sustainable

Manager at Toyota.

[door squeaking]

Hi Tamara, Mark Yamauchi. So nice to meet you.

-Welcome to Toyota. -Thank you.

I'm so excited for what we're gonna see here today.

I can't wait to show you. Let's go see.

All right, let's take a look.

So I would love to start big picture.

Tell me a little bit about Toyota's global

sustainability goals.

Well, globally, our North Star is

our Toyota Environmental Challenge 2050,

which consists of goals that address

our carbon, water, materials,

and biodiversity impacts. -Mm-hmm.

In the U.S., we have our interim milestone

goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2035.

OK, so what made this location the right place to try

to start achieving that?

[Mark] Well, it's one of our most important port processing

facilities in the U.S.

It's a great opportunity to start our journey towards

carbon neutrality, as well as addressing our impacts on

the community in water, materials, and biodiversity.

I would love to know more about that.

Well, let me introduce you to Jeff White, Senior Manager at

TLS, who's the expert, and he will tell you more

about that. -That would be fantastic.

Follow me.

Hey, Jeff. This is Tamara.

-Hey, it's great to meet you. -Hi, Tamara.

Great to meet you.

Tamara, I'll leave you in Jeff's capable hands,

and I'll see you later.

Great. Thank you so much.

So, Mark told me that you could give me the low down on what

actually happens here at TLS.

Sure.

At TLS, we see ourselves as a link between

the manufacturing plant and the customer, which is our dealer.

We receive vehicles in about 200,000 units a year,

and we add accessories.

So we try to give the customer what they want.

So they want a running board, put on a running board,

it could be a drop hitch, or it could be

a door edge guard.

Once we complete all the accessories, then we do

a final quality confirmation, and then we'll also put on

the window sticker. -Got it, all right,

well, I'm always in favor of a good accessory,

so thank you for that.

And it also sounds like you do a lot of the things here that

people like me get excited about when we go

to the dealership.

I am curious about one thing, though.

So I know Toyota does a lot of manufacturing of their vehicles

for the U.S. market in the U.S.,

but where exactly are the vehicles

that come through TLS mainly manufactured?

Yeah, we receive our vehicles from three different sources,

about 200,000 a year.

-We receive a small portion from Belgium, -OK.

we receive some from Mexico,

but our biggest portion comes from Japan.

OK, so now I'm hoping you can maybe help me connect the dots.

So I'm familiar with the Mirai, I've been able to drive it,

know it's powered by hydrogen, fuel cell technology.

What is it that made you want to partner with a company like

FuelCell Energy and employ Trigen Station here to support

what's going on at TLS.

Sure, when we started redesigning our facility

a couple years ago, we knew there was a need for hydrogen

to fuel the Mirai.

We believed in fuel cell technology.

We also had sustainability goals.

We were looking for a company that had a shared vision,

and we found FuelCell Energy.

They believed in fuel cell technology.

They were also able to develop this Trigen facility that

supplies electricity, water, and hydrogen to help us

meet our sustainability goals.

Thank you so much for providing that context.

I'm about to go talk to Paul at Trigen, and now I feel

much more prepared.

[Tamara] We're at Toyota Logistics Services in the port of

Long Beach, which uses a Trigen system to generate

renewable energy.

I'm going to talk to Paul Fukumoto, Director,

Tech and Product Solutions at FuelCell Energy.

-Hey there. -Hi, I'm Paul.

I'm Tamara, and it is great to meet you and see Trigen.

Can you tell me about fuel cell technology?

It's a fuel cell, which actually is made out of thin plates

which are made into a stack.

And that stack looks like a deck of cards, imagine that.

-So imagine that those are now heated, running hot. -[Tamara] Mm-hmm.

We're feeding it gas.

That gas is now converted into hydrogen and electricity,

and that's called an electrochemical reaction.

Very cool.

So what is it about this particular facility

that's unique?

We call it Trigen, because there's three products --

electricity, hydrogen, and water.

That electricity is sent to Toyota and also the local grid

for grid support.

Then the hydrogen that we make is actually used to fuel cars

and trucks, and then the water that we recover is also

delivered to Toyota to wash cars.

OK, so that's what comes out of the system.

You mentioned the gas that goes into the system.

What's the source for that?

[Paul] Well, coming in is what we call biogas.

[Tamara] OK, wait, what exactly is biogas?

Because I hear that term tossed around a lot.

[Paul] That's actually derived from what we call organic waste.

So that organic waste is a product of how we live.

So we have what we call the sewer gas

and the organic waste gas.

That's combined together, put in what they call

a digester, and that creates the methane.

And then that is cleaned up and upgraded and is delivered

over here via a pipeline.

And we use that for renewable feedstock.

So how then does this system compare when it comes to

environmental impact to more traditional energy

generation systems? -It's much cleaner.

First, with electrochemical reaction, it has near zero air

emissions, so you have clean air. -Mm-hmm.

And then the resulting hydrogen and electricity,

that's renewable because we're using that biogas.

It's also low carbon because you're avoiding

those emissions.

And then of course, don't forget the water

with the Trigen.

That water is used to wash cars.

[Tamara] Well, it certainly makes sense now as to why TLS thought that

you would be a good partner for their sustainability efforts.

So, tell me a little bit more about Toyota sustainability

efforts across all of your facilities.

-Well, we have various types of facilities in the U.S. -[Tamara] Yeah.

which require different types of solutions.

So, we have to look at different types of technologies and

opportunities to meet those needs such as solar,

wind, virtual power purchase agreements, and hydrogen.

In terms of hydrogen, Trigen made so much sense as

the optimal solution for us here at Long Beach.

[Tamara] It totally makes sense that you need different solutions

for different conditions.

What was it about the conditions here that made

Trigen the right solution?

Well Trigen produces renewable electricity,

renewable hydrogen, and usable water that

we use here. -All of that is in play here.

[Mark] Right, and what's really cool is that Trigen makes this

facility Toyota's first port processing facility in

the world that's powered by 100% on site

generated electricity. -[Tamara] Are you serious?

-[Mark] It's fantastic. -I did not realize that.

We need to meet back up with Jeff, and he's got to give me

a bigger tour of this place. -Well let's go.

All right.

So I love getting this behind-the-scenes look at how

everything is put together.

What exactly am I looking at here?

This is our conveyor line.

This is where we install accessories that we talked

about earlier. -Got it.

OK, and how long does each station have to

install its accessory?

[Jeff] Each station is 74 seconds, so they complete

whatever accessories are installed within that time.

All right, very, very quick -- and what are the numbers that I'm seeing?

Yeah, the numbers we use to kind of identify each workstation,

helps us troubleshoot if there's a problem,

we know where to go quickly to help resolve that problem.

[Tamara] OK, gotcha.

Well, I'd like to bring the conversation back around

to sustainability.

You know, we were talking before about the fact that this

whole facility is powered by renewable energy, which is

amazing by the way.

I see things like lights, that's an obvious power need,

but what else in this facility requires power that someone

like me might not be aware of?

[Jeff] Yeah, sure, the conveyor itself is powered

by renewable energy. -[Tamara] Uh-huh.

We have fans throughout the facility powered by energy,

and also even the tools that are used in this installation

are powered by renewable energy.

So when you were redesigning this place, it really came down

to looking at so many different pieces and how is that going to

fit together? -Exactly.

So we've talked about renewable hydrogen, we've talked about

renewable electricity, but you also mention that

a product of this process is usable water.

Where does that come into play here?

The water gets used in our car wash.

-Oh, can I take a look? -Sure, let's go.

OK.

[Tamara] Toyota Logistics Services in the Port of Long Beach is

Toyota's first port vehicle facility in the world to be

powered by on site generated 100% renewable electricity.

Hey, Tamara, instead of watching the car wash,

you want to go through it? -Yeah, let's do it.

Let's go.

Before we take off to see the car wash, we need to stop

and get some fuel. -Oh, OK. Makes sense.

All right. Let's go.

This is our Mirai.

It's our hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle.

[Tamara] All right.

Well, I assume since this is a Mirai, that means

I'm gonna get to see the light duty fueling station.

That's right.

We do have a light duty station here on site.

It's closed to the public, but we use it to

fuel our Mirais.

But there are light duty stations all around

Southern California, and that infrastructure is part

of what makes this a good market for the Mirai, right?

[Jeff] That's correct.

And do you have a heavy duty fueling station?

We have one just adjacent to us.

It's for Class A trucks that operate in and around

the port operation.

So Tamara, this is our light duty hydrogen station that

we use to fuel the Mirai. You want to see how it works?

-Yeah, absolutely. -First thing you do is remove this cap,

Mm-hmm.

pick up the nozzle,

you engage the nozzle,

press the start button,

and now it's pumping.

[automated voice at pump] The nozzle may require a gentle pull

to release from the vehicle.

[Tamara] And there's a nice lady who tells you when you're

all done. -Exactly.

OK, so what's next in the process?

Next is the car wash.

We wash the car prior to shipment to the dealer.

All right, let's head over there.

All right.

So Trigen supplies the electricity to the car wash

and also supplies water up to about 1,400 gallons a day.

Supplements our current usage in the car wash.

[Tamara] Oh wow, so that is reusable water that is really keeping it

a cyclical kind of a thing. -Exactly.

What is it about car washes, whether you're like 8 or 80,

there's just something fun about going inside them?

[Jeff] They're the greatest.

[Tamara] After the car wash, I met back up with Mark Yamauchi to talk

more about Toyota's sustainability efforts.

Well, I really enjoyed getting to see the Trigen facility,

and it made me curious about how it feeds into not just

sustainability efforts here for TLS, but overall for Toyota.

Well, like our diversified approach to vehicle

electrification, we need to take a portfolio approach to

meeting the needs of our operations.

So different conditions require different solutions?

Optimizing solutions.

Something else I was thinking about was sustainability.

Obviously, everyone knows this is important now, but where does

that value fit into and interact with Toyota's

core values?

Well, one of our main core values is respect for people.

As such, we want to make a positive impact on society

and the communities in which we operate.

Therefore, we really need to reduce our carbon footprint.

Well I am gonna get a chance now to see that in action

because I'm actually gonna head over to

the Port of Long Beach, where I'm gonna talk

with Heather Tomley,

who is the Managing Director of Planning

and Environmental Affairs. -That's great.

Yeah, I'm really excited to talk to her.

I'm at the Port of Long Beach, where I'm going to talk to

Heather Tomley, their Managing Director of

Planning and Environmental Affairs, about how Toyota is

reducing its carbon footprint.

Hey, Tamara -- hi, nice to meet you.

-I'm Heather. -It's nice to meet you.

I was just admiring the massive operation you have going on

here at the port. -Yeah, absolutely.

The Port of Long Beach is actually the second busiest

container port in the United States.

Wow, so about how much passes through on a regular basis,

how many folks do you employ?

So last year, we had more than eight million boxes that moved

through the Port of Long Beach, and we're responsible for one

in five jobs in the city of Long Beach, and we're a massive

economic engine that helps support jobs throughout

the entire nation. -OK, wow.

So between all the stuff that needs to get to other places

and between even just employees coming and going to work every

day, there's an opportunity here for a massive

environmental impact. -Yeah, that's right.

So that's all part of the balance.

So while we're helping to support the economy,

we're helping to move cargo into the United States,

we also at the same time need to make sure that we're

addressing the environmental impacts

that are associated with that.

So right now, what would you say are the top

sustainability goals for the Port of Long Beach?

So the Port of Long Beach adopted our green port policy

back in 2005, and since then, we've been working on a variety

of different air quality improvement programs,

water quality improvement programs, and we've had a lot

of success.

It's great to hear that you've had a green policy in place

for so long.

I'm imagining things have changed as technology

has advanced.

Where does something like TLS fit into the picture?

So it's as we're moving forward with programs and projects in

partnership with our tenants, like TLS, that we're able to

move towards sustainable solutions, decarbonization.

With their Trigen system, they've been able to implement

a project that helps to supply their energy,

their hydrogen fuel, and their water for

their car wash -- and so it's a good,

creative, innovative, sustainable solution.

Well, it's exciting to be here and see how all

of the pieces fit together.

Thank you so much for taking the time to talk with me.

Absolutely, it was my pleasure.

[Tamara] Next, we explored if what TLS is doing at the Port of Long Beach

is a scalable solution for other industries.

We were just talking about how cool it's been for me to see

all of this in action, and as, you know,

we kind of wrap things up,

I was wondering, now that this is up and running, do you think

that this is a scalable solution for sustainability for

other industries?

Yes it is, we have many of these systems deployed

around the world.

This one is a unique one, but everything we build is

scalable and it's fit to the application and project.

OK, well speaking of particular projects,

particular applications, now that you're seeing this in

action, do you think that this is a sustainability solution

for Toyota for other things?

First of its kind in the world, this application here is

perfect for Long Beach.

We're looking at how it might apply to other locations on

a case by case basis.

When you have challenges on a long-term project,

knowing that you're on the same team, you're coming from that

same place of shared values can really get you through

those challenges.

And that is a learning about innovation that I'm excited to

take back to George at Inventionland.

-Fantastic. -That's great.

[Tamara] At Inventionland, George Davison is meeting with

Jackie Birdsall, Senior Engineering Manager at

Toyota North America.

Hi, Jackie, welcome to Inventionland.

Hi, thank you so much for having me.

Well, I was waiting for you to get here because I got these

from your team -- I thought you could talk about them

a little bit. -Yeah, actually this is one fuel cell.

So these are called the gas diffusion layers,

or the bipolar plates.

And these are what's sandwiched together to create a single

fuel cell.

And then that is what is put into one of these

fuel cell systems.

So you stack a bunch of fuel cells together.

It creates what's called a fuel cell stack.

And then we combine that with all of the power electronics

with the air compressors, with the hydrogen pumps,

and that creates a fuel cell system that then can create as

much power that you need to drive anything with all

electric devices.

And so I got this picture, and along with it, this one

came, and I thought this is tied to that fuel cell system, and is

this how we power it up? -That's correct.

This is a fuel cell energy, it's called a Trigen system.

It creates hydrogen from biogas in California.

That hydrogen is then used to fill hydrogen tanks on board of

our vehicles or at a stationary generator.

And then these fuel cells use that hydrogen, combine it with

oxygen to create water, and a byproduct of that

is electricity. -Ah, clean power.

OK, so we like the idea of clean power.

Can you talk with me a little bit about, what are we gonna see

in tomorrow's world concerning clean power?

It's a great question.

Toyota's position is that we believe in a portfolio of

solutions to get us to clean power, including both battery

electric and fuel cell electric technology,

and hydrogen's really gonna be a key component for both.

Well, that's a great noble cause.

Thanks for everything you're doing, Jackie.

Thank you.

Well, everybody, that's another edition of

"Tomorrow's World Today." Tune in next time.

Now, Jackie, I need to get all those secrets out of you, as to

what's going on in that R&D lab.

[George] And remember, tomorrow's world is where

inspiration and creation drive innovation in production.