The Tokyu Hotels Group is leading the way in Japan with its approach to the use of hydrogen fuel in hotels. Hydrogen has been referred to as the ‘ultimate clean energy’, offering a solution for securing a stable energy supply and preserving the global environment.
The Kawasaki King Skyfront Tokyu REI Hotel has created a sustainable model for its production in partnership with government entities in order to achieve a hotel which is 100% run on renewable energy. This innovative hotel has won prizes for its countermeasures against global warming, and continues to implement more environmentally friendly options into its operations.
Inspired by Brooklyn, New York, the Kawasaki King Skyfront Tokyu REI Hotel was opened as an ethically minded, cosy hotel which is 100% powered by renewable energy, fitting in line with Kawasaki’s initiative to leave a greener footprint and comply with the country’s new growth strategy. With the concept that ‘merely staying at the hotel is eco-friendly’, this stylish hotel is symbolic of the future with its uniqueness as the first hydrogen-powered hotel in the world.
The hotel’s power supply is 30% sustained by plastic waste that is acquired locally from the city of Kawasaki, as well as plastics produced by the hotel, including used room amenities such as toothbrushes and hair combs.
In one year, a total of 300,000Nm3 of hydrogen is supplied, generating 450,000kWh of power with a total CO2 reduction effect of about 200,000kg. This is equivalent to providing electricity for 82 households of four people per day and reducing CO2 equal to that of 14,300 cedar trees, whilst supplying 30% of the hotel’s electricity, and utilising the waste heat from the fuel cells as energy to heat water.
Alongside the hydrogen initiative, and in order to implement environmentally friendly hotel operations, the other 70% of Kawasaki King Skyfront Tokyu REI Hotel’s electricity is sourced from ‘food waste’. By participating in a project where food waste is methane-fermented by microorganisms, the biogas is used as fuel in an effort to eliminate food waste disposed of at hotels, in addition to generating fuel to use as electricity.
In 2020, a ‘plant growing module’ was installed in the lobby, so that guests staying at the hotel could visually experience the effects of renewable energy. The plant module generates photosynthesis using an LED light source and hydroponics with a nutrient solution. As the total number of pesticide-free lettuces which can be planted at one time is 120, planting and harvesting is done in stages so that approximately 30-50 lettuces can be cultivated per week.
Commenting on the hotel, Noriyuki Mizutani, General Manager of the Kawasaki King Skyfront Tokyu REI Hotel said: “We are extremely proud to announce the innovations within the Kawasaki hotel. Across the entire Tokyu Hotels Group, our focus is to create a sustainable society for our employees, guests and surrounding community. The Kawasaki hotel is at the forefront of ethical innovation and we hope to see more hotels follow.”
With the UN Climate Change Conference, Cop26, and World Travel Market taking place in the UK this week, it’s essential that the industry is more environmentally aware and investing in innovative solutions within hospitality. Tokyu Hotels Group is taking part in this initiative in order to inspire climate action in the hotel industry through the implementation of hydrogen. The Japanese hotel group plans to spread awareness by educating on the importance of clean and renewable energy through SDG themed school trips to the facilities of the organisations which are contributing to the hotel’s hydrogen based operations, as part of the next step.
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Hospitality & Catering News: Tokyu Hotels Group create a hotel run completely on renewable energy. – 6 November 2021 – Tokyu Hotels Group create a hotel run completely on renewable energy.
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