Toyota FCV Plus, a Car That Can Power Your Home, Not Just Your Travels

Before we continue, please allow me to say that this vehicle is not just a car. It is rather an entire restructuring of our societal norms, all bundled up on four wheels and looking like a car. The reason I say this is because the FCV Plus is a car, but then so much more.

What we know is this. She is hydrogen powered, making her 100% eco-friendly, as the only waste product of utilizing hydrogen is the mighty life-giving H2O. Flowers grow behind it as you drive down the street. Just kidding. She can’t do that, but she can do a bunch of other stuff like power your home. We’ll get to that.

The first thing you notice about the car is its shape and large glass exterior. The exterior shape is made in such a way as to maximize aerodynamics and offer the highest possibly efficiency with the technology it uses. One of the aerodynamic characteristics of the vehicle is that it also allows for air to flow underneath it and is designed to utilize that airflow, something most other vehicles shy away from.

The FCV Plus was designed in such a way as to minimize weight and dimensions of the car, while maximizing interior space. What Toyota has done is eliminate absolutely everything that isn’t necessary. In doing so, you will notice no engine compartment, as the hydrogen cell and drivetrain is underneath the vehicle. Also, no dashboard, as she can display all information on the windshield and rear window, thus leaving only pedals and a steering column to be used. The overall body shape is created with durability and visibility in mind.

So she’s powered by hydrogen, OK. What else? Well, the hydrogen fuel cell she uses had been designed and redesigned again to serve more than one purpose. One of the features of the FCV Plus is that the hydrogen cell can be removed and utilized as a source of energy for other purposes, like powering your office building. This bit about the office building is not a joke. That really is one of the plans Toyota has in the designs.

What she is meant to do, aside from getting everyone’s attention as you drive around growing flowers, she is meant to power other nearby vehicles with similar technology and even the very office buildings and homes we inhabit. She’s meant to be able to do this as she is equipped with wireless battery charging panels on the rear wheels and under the front floor, which allow for charging of exterior devices and infrastructure. But my question is this, how?

For something to work with or as a charging station, because that’s what the FCV Plus can be, it has to have wireless technology such as Bluetooth, NFC or other emerging tech, and the last time I checked my office building isn’t Bluetooth activated. That doesn’t mean we can’t be looking forward to this type of technology for our future. Frankly, it makes sense to do so.

If we have a battery source that is always active, as is the case with hydrogen cells storage, then why not power your phone, your laptop, your home, even the gym where you’re parked?