Photo: Toyota
After being unveiled at a press conference in Japan last week, the production version Toyota FCV just made its public debut at the 2014 Aspen Ideas Festival, an event focusing on imagining a greener, sustainable future.
Merging with the festival’s aspirations, the Toyota FCV makes for an important step towards zero-emission vehicles, offering the same convenience and safety as a normal four-door sedan but being electrically-powered.
“Our society is on the cusp of a revolution in personal mobility,” said Osamu Nagata, President and CEO of Toyota Motor Engineering and Manufacturing North America. “Slowly but surely, new technologies are changing how we think about automobiles and transportation -- from intelligent, automated systems that team up with drivers to improve safety, to zero-emission vehicles that emit nothing but water vapor. These technologies will help save lives, improve the environment, create jobs and help the U.S. maintain technical leadership in a field that is an important contributor to economic growth.”
Using an advanced hydrogen fuel cell, the FCV also cuts the problems current EVs struggle with, such as short range and relatively big recharging times.
The FCV is fitted with two hydrogen fuel tanks, being able to go around 300 miles (483 km) after which refueling them should take around 3 to 5 minutes. An exact power output hasn’t been released yet, but Toyota says it should make over 100 kW (134 bhp), so don’t imagine the car will struggle to get up to highway speeds.
Toyota’s new fuel cell hybrid promises to shape the auto industry just as its Prius relative did a while ago. The automaker already contracted FirstElement Fuels to support the long-term operation and maintenance of 19 new hydrogen refueling stations in California, with the list following to expand soon enough.
Sounds like we don’t need to worry about emissions anymore. Let’s just hope the industry will find a clean way to extract hydrogen and power these carbon-free dreams at a reasonable price.
“Our society is on the cusp of a revolution in personal mobility,” said Osamu Nagata, President and CEO of Toyota Motor Engineering and Manufacturing North America. “Slowly but surely, new technologies are changing how we think about automobiles and transportation -- from intelligent, automated systems that team up with drivers to improve safety, to zero-emission vehicles that emit nothing but water vapor. These technologies will help save lives, improve the environment, create jobs and help the U.S. maintain technical leadership in a field that is an important contributor to economic growth.”
Using an advanced hydrogen fuel cell, the FCV also cuts the problems current EVs struggle with, such as short range and relatively big recharging times.
The FCV is fitted with two hydrogen fuel tanks, being able to go around 300 miles (483 km) after which refueling them should take around 3 to 5 minutes. An exact power output hasn’t been released yet, but Toyota says it should make over 100 kW (134 bhp), so don’t imagine the car will struggle to get up to highway speeds.
Toyota’s new fuel cell hybrid promises to shape the auto industry just as its Prius relative did a while ago. The automaker already contracted FirstElement Fuels to support the long-term operation and maintenance of 19 new hydrogen refueling stations in California, with the list following to expand soon enough.
Sounds like we don’t need to worry about emissions anymore. Let’s just hope the industry will find a clean way to extract hydrogen and power these carbon-free dreams at a reasonable price.
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