Conversion to a hybrid configuration - now a key part of the Riedhammer offering - was chosen after five years of successful operation. The first in-factory installation for the Whiteware sector, this kiln highlights Riedhammer's role as a leading force in the industry’s ‘green transition’, both in terms of new machines and retrofits for existing kilns.
TOTO recently started up the first sanitaryware tunnel kiln to be fuelled with a hydrogen-natural gas mixture. Manufactured by Riedhammer, the kiln is in operation at the Kokura plant in Fukuoka Prefecture.
‘Going green’ has always been a must for TOTO: hence their decision to adapt their new TWS kiln - installed just 5 years ago - to a hydrogen+natural gas fuel mix.
The kiln underwent a Riedhammer-designed technological retrofit that adapts the combustion system to run on an energy blend of hydrogen and natural gas. Retrofits like this can be implemented on existing plants and matched to their age and technical specifications, allowing hydrogen to be gradually added to the energy mix, even on kilns that are already in operation.
This successfully-completed modification has been in place since the start of 2026. At present the tunnel kiln is running on a blend of 20% green hydrogen and 80% traditional natural gas. Another key aspect of this project concerns finished product quality: in-the-field tests have shown that using H₂ + natural gas has no side effects on the firing process or the technical-aesthetic characteristics of the sanitaryware. Quality therefore remains excellent, in full compliance with TOTO's production standards.
This first in-factory installation illustrates the soundness of Riedhammer's strategy. The current range, in fact, doesn’t just offer a ‘native’ sanitaryware kiln set-up to allow operation with variable hydrogen-natural gas mixtures, it also includes the brand new all-electric kiln, making the company a ceramic industry decarbonization trailblazer.