Toyota, the king (or queen) of awkward-looking hybrid vehicles is back and ready to conquer your wallet with a new, even more efficient vehicle that replaces internal combustion engine with hydrogen fuel cells. The Japanese auto-maker is developing a sporty, yet-to-be-named, four seat sedan that runs on power created through an electrochemical reaction when oxygen in the air combines with hydrogen stored as fuel. This is not a next generation Prius, but something entirely different.
Hydrogen fuel cells are significantly more environmentally-friendly than internal combustion, emitting no exhaust other than some heat and a trickle of water. Fuel cells are also extremely quiet, producing only 60 decibels of sound. And of course, hydrogen is extremely abundant, reducing reliance on oil.
However, the auto industry’s embrace of the technology is still in its infancy and struggling to move beyond mere prototype even after decades of research and development; the primary reason for this stems out of cost and onboard fuel storage. The technology used in hydrogen fuel cell vehicles is expensive, raising the cost of the vehicle slightly above its internal combustion counterpart. Furthermore, hydrogen contains much less energy on a per-volume basis than gasoline (or diesel), making it difficult to store enough hydrogen onboard to travel a distance comparable to gasoline vehicles between refuels.
Satoshi Ogiso, leading engineer at Toyota, is confident that not only is there a market for this kind of thing now, but it will further grow “in significance over time,” just look at Toyota’s Prius Hybrid. To be fair, the Prius was also met with extreme skepticism in its initial stages, and now is one of the top selling environmentally friendly vehicles. He says, “Hydrogen marks an even bigger step than a hybrid. It is our proposal for a totally new kind of car. If you want to experience this new world, if you want to go green, this is it.”
Toyota’s prelimary fuel cell R&D begin in 1992, but the company has not disclosed how much funding has been invested into the project, nor is it actually the first automaker to develop this kind of vehicle. In fact, forklifts powered by fuel cells are already becoming commonplace in factories. General Motors Co. has also reportedly been developing the technology and Honda Motor Co. released the first model of its FCX Clarity fuel cell sedan as early as 2008.
Toyota’s unnamed vehicle is scheduled to go on sale in Japan sometime before April 2015, with the United States and Europe to following six months after that. The company hopes that its position as the world’s top-selling hybrid automaker will inspire wide adoption of hydrogen fuel vehicles.
Via Newsday
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