Photo: Toyota
Toyota’s idea for a clean future transportation is represented by the fuel cell technology, which the automaker wants to start manufacturing from 2015.
The fuel cell technology has been first materialized in 2011 as the Toyota FCV-R concept seen at the Tokyo Motor Show.
The concept is 4,745 mm long (35 mm longer than an Avensis), 1,510 mm tall and 1,790 mm wide and it emits nothing else than water vapors. Creating the zero-emission vehicle to work in real life has required particular attention to the design of the fuel cell and the hydrogen tank. Toyota managed to downsize the fuel cell stack by achieving the highest fuel cell power density yet - 3 kW per liter, which allowed for the fuel tank to shrink. In fact, there are two hydrogen fuel tanks and a cell stack located beneath the vehicle’s floor in order to leave the necessary room for passengers.
Toyota started looking for fuel cell solutions in 1992 and since then, the technology saw a significant improvement. The fuel cell that will be used on the production model managed to achieve the world’s highest power output density so far, having twice the power it had in 2008 on the FCHV-adv model. Range also increased from 205 miles (330 km) to 350 (563 km) and can operate at temperatures as low as -30 degrees Celsius.
The production FCHV fuel cell car is expected to reach full mass-market commercialization in the 2020s. A current price tag would be at about £70,000, but Toyota is working to cut the costs and make the vehicle more affordable.
The concept is 4,745 mm long (35 mm longer than an Avensis), 1,510 mm tall and 1,790 mm wide and it emits nothing else than water vapors. Creating the zero-emission vehicle to work in real life has required particular attention to the design of the fuel cell and the hydrogen tank. Toyota managed to downsize the fuel cell stack by achieving the highest fuel cell power density yet - 3 kW per liter, which allowed for the fuel tank to shrink. In fact, there are two hydrogen fuel tanks and a cell stack located beneath the vehicle’s floor in order to leave the necessary room for passengers.
Toyota started looking for fuel cell solutions in 1992 and since then, the technology saw a significant improvement. The fuel cell that will be used on the production model managed to achieve the world’s highest power output density so far, having twice the power it had in 2008 on the FCHV-adv model. Range also increased from 205 miles (330 km) to 350 (563 km) and can operate at temperatures as low as -30 degrees Celsius.
The production FCHV fuel cell car is expected to reach full mass-market commercialization in the 2020s. A current price tag would be at about £70,000, but Toyota is working to cut the costs and make the vehicle more affordable.
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