Tag Archives: Hydrogen

Toyota Keeping Its Options Open, Won’t Commit To An EV-Only Future

Toyota believes that electric vehicles are not necessarily the only way forward and thus it will offer vehicles with many propulsion technologies for the foreseeable future.

“It’s too early to concentrate on one option,” said director Shigeki Terashi at the company’s annual shareholder meeting, per Automotive News. The comment was in response to a question about why the company wasn’t making a bold EV plan like Honda or GM.

Terashi argued that different technologies must be allowed to compete against each other in the marketplace in order to find the solution that best serves it. That’s why Toyota will continue to invest in hybrid and fuel-cell technologies in the years leading up to 2050.

Read Also: Polestar Reveals Climate Impact For Its EVs, Calls For Industry Transparency

“Some people love battery-electric vehicles but others don’t see the current technologies as convenient,” Toyota’s Chief Technology Officer Masahiko Maeda said. “In the end what matters is what customers choose.”

Toyota recently competed in a 24-hour race with a hydrogen-powered Corolla that used a converted combustion engine from a GR Yaris in order to prove that hydrogen engines can be a better, carbon-reduced solution for long distances.

The automaker also pointed to lifecycle emissions, which remain high for EVs, despite their low local emissions. Batteries, in particular, are carbon-intensive to mine and manufacture, though Polestar found that its vehicles gain a carbon advantage over gas-powered vehicles after just 31,000 miles on the road. Another study argued that the cost of producing hydrogen, especially if there was a sudden, intense demand on the supply, could lead to a fossil-fuel backslide.

Toyota recently came under fire from investors for what they felt was an incorrect stance on green technologies and its anti-environmental governmental lobbying efforts. That led to a public recommitment to green technologies.

Indeed, despite its commitment to multiple fuel types, Toyota is actually investing in EVs, like the recently announced bZ4X that it’s making in partnership with Subaru.

Toyota Pushes Forward With Hydrogen, Sets Up New Production And Refueling Center In Australia

Victoria sees its first commercial-grade hydrogen production, storage, and refueling facility come online as Toyota has transformed its former manufacturing space at Altona in the west of Melbourne.

According to the Japanese auto-making giant, sustainable hydrogen will play a key role in fueling eco-friendly vehicles such as the Toyota Mirai, the first mass-produced hydrogen-powered vehicle that has zero C02 emissions, no need to recharge batteries and is capable of driving up to 650 km (404 miles) on a single refuel.

CSIRO Hydrogen Industry Mission Dr. Patrick Hartley stated at the opening that the infrastructure commissioned at the new facility will greatly help the progression of deploying hydrogen-powered vehicles, contributing immensely for the transportation sector in Australia to take a step in the direction of energy transition.

Also Watch: 2021 Toyota Mirai Review – Second Time Is A Charm

Toyota have been selling the hydrogen-powered Mirai in Japan and the US for seven years now but were limited in their Australian market expansion due to the lack of infrastructure to accommodate the vehicle. The company has acknowledged that the commission of the new hydrogen center will bring them closer to introducing hydrogen models to local consumers.

“Globally, Toyota is committed to achieving zero CO2 from its vehicles and plants under the Toyota Environmental Challenge 2050 and the commissioning of our hydrogen refueling facility here today is an important step towards achieving that goal,” said Mr. Matthew Callahor, president and CEO of Toyota Australia.

The solar-powered hydrogen outlet is expected to produce as much as 80 kg of hydrogen per day, which will be stored in a bank of storage tubes at medium and high pressure to refuel fuel-cell forklifts used by Toyota in the other parts of the facility, as well as consumer-purchased hydrogen FCEVs such as the brand new Mirai.