New Toyota promises to pump out cleaner air than it takes in
Significant advances in hydrogen-powered vehicles hasten eco-friendly revolution, writes Eddie Cunningham
WE’VE had low-emissions cars, zero-emissions cars – and now we have a ‘minus-emissions’ car.
Toyota says the hydrogen-powered vehicle, launched today, can emit cleaner air than it takes in.
And it is not some aspirational concept for future reckoning.
We will get to see the emissions-busting Mirai fuel cell saloon for ourselves next year when Toyota brings demonstrator models to Ireland as part of a big drive to popularise both the fuel and technology.
In the Mirai’s fuel cell, hydrogen and oxygen are combined to generate electricity to power the car with no harmful tail-pipe emissions.
Part of the process involves super-cleaning the air passing into the cell with a special catalyst filter.
It mops up 90pc-100pc of the microscopic particles and pollutants from the outside air.
The result, Toyota engineers claim, is that the air emitted in the fuel-cell process is cleaner than what originally came in.
Hence the claim that the Mirai is a ‘minus’ or ‘negative’ emissions vehicle because it improves, rather than pollutes, the air.
The only ‘emissions’ produced by the fuel cell are pure water and warm air.
Should you wish to be an early Hyrodgen-car adapter, the Mirai will cost somewhere in the region of €70,000 to €80,000 as a final price has yet to be worked out.
However, most cars are expected to be leased rather than bought outright, and prices are expected to fall as more models are manufactured.
In response to a question by the Irish Independent, experts estimated Mirai would use around €8 worth of hydrogen to travel 100km – that’s a couple of euro or so more than a modern diesel doing 4.5 litres per 100km.
The original Mirai was unveiled more than five years ago, but this marks significant advances.
It can, for example, cover 650km on one fill of its 30pc increased tank capacity. Economy has been improved by 10pc improvement too.
The Mirai is part of a wider, global push to establish hydrogen as a real-world alternative to fossil fuel-powered cars and trucks – as well as planes, buses, ships, factories and homes.
As a result , Toyota expects a 10-fold increase in sales (to 30,000 a year) of the car worldwide.
In the wake of the demonstrator models arriving next year, there are plans to import 50 Mirais – mainly for taxi use – relatively soon, according to Toyota Ireland chief executive Steve Tormey.
He hoped the likes of BMW and Hyundai would do the same with their fuel cell vehicles to help attain a critical mass of such motors and to highlight their capabilities.
By the end of 2022, it is hoped there will be three refuelling stations in the Dublin area with a target of 10 within a relatively short time. It is at that stage they hope to bring in the 50 Mirais for taxi companies.
Mr Tormey said to expect more cars by 2023. “The only thing holding it back is lack of network, but from as early as 2023 the numbers could rapidly increase,” he said.
By the 2030s, those involved in the Hydrogen Mobility Ireland consortium of stakeholders are hoping to have the fuel widely accepted and integrated as a key element of the multi-faceted power scenario here.
In hydrogen’s favour is the fact that it can be safely stored and transported to where it’s needed. And fuel cells do not need to be recharged. They will keep going as long as there is fuel – in the case of the Mirai there are three heavily reinforced tanks under the floor, rear seats and luggage compartment.
They hold 5.6kg of hydrogen, which accounts for only 6pc of the combined weight of fuel and tanks such is the level of storage protection.
It takes five minutes to refuel. I did so in Hamburg in 2015 with the old Mirai, and it was just like filling up with petrol or diesel.
This latest Mirai’s fuel-cell stack is much smaller than before and has been moved from beneath the cabin to under the bonnet, opening up more room for rear seat passengers – a major criticism of the previous one.
Yet despite all the positives, there are hurdles other than the absence of a network and price. Most hydrogen is still produced from fossil fuels. That would seem to partly negate claims of ‘minus emissions’ though a big increase in renewable energies rather than fossil fuel is expected.
And there are advances on fronts other than environmental. The Mirai’s cell is more powerful (from 152bhp to 172bhp) – so much so they are emphasising its driving performance by having a sound system fitted to mimic energetic driving in the absence of noise from the silent ‘engine’.
There may not be much noise coming from this latest advance towards the Holy Grail of transport’s emissions-free future, but you can expect to hear a lot about it – and others of its ilk – over the coming months.