The installation of the first steel column for the Toyota fuel cell R&D and production project began on Mar 16.

At 2:00 pm that day, the installation of five steel columns for the R&D building was completed, marking the completion of the underground foundation structure and the beginning of the construction of the main steel structure.

Construction of the Toyota fuel cell R&D and production project to be completed. [Photo/beijingetown.com.cn]

The fuel cell project being built in Beijing E-Town is the first fuel cell R&D institution and production factory of Japan's Toyota company outside of Japan. 

It covers an area of 113,291.7 square meters, with a total construction area of approximately 42,308.7 square meters in the first phase. 

It will build production workshops, test workshops, laboratory buildings, office buildings, comprehensive station buildings, waste warehouses, hydrogen stations and other buildings.

"This project has more than 10 individual buildings of different sizes, with more than 29,000 prefabricated steel components, a total steel usage of about 5,000 tons, and is expected to complete all steel structure installation work in May," said Wei Zhongpeng, project manager of the contractor. He said the steel structure is the "skeleton" of the fuel cell project. 

To ensure that all steel components are lifted quickly, accurately and efficiently, the project will increase the number of lifting equipment and adopt a synchronous construction method for multiple work surfaces to improve construction efficiency.

Construction of the Toyota fuel cell R&D and production project to be completed. [Photo/beijingetown.com.cn]

With the steady progress of the steel structure installation work, the project construction is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

Construction of the Toyota fuel cell R&D and production project in progress. [Photo/beijingetown.com.cn]

In addition, the project has introduced a smart construction site system, implemented signboard management, and strictly monitored the entire process from the beginning to the end, with a strict requirement of "zero" accidents as the baseline.

After the completion of the project, it will integrate the R&D, production and sales of commercial vehicle fuel cells, and form the ability to produce 5,000-10,000 sets of commercial vehicle fuel cell stack systems per year, with an expected annual industrial output value of more than 3 billion yuan ($436.12 million) for Beijing E-Town.