Toyota unveiled its hydrogen fuel cell vehicle concept (FCV) at CES with plans to launch a production version in 2015.
There were two version of the four-door mid-size sedan on stage at CES. The first was a bright Radiant Blue that was an example of what the production version could look like when it rolls off the line. The second was a camouflage-taped prototype that was used for testing.
That prototype vehicle has been cruising the roads of North America for extreme on-road testing for over a year. During that time it’s been posting a consistent 300 mile driving range along with a 0-60 time of 10 seconds. The hydrogen cell vehicle boasts no emissions other than water vapor and can be refueled in just three to five minutes.
Toyota has heavily invested in fuel cell research and development over the last 20 years and has been testing prototypes in North America since 2002. That has helped them learn how to reduce the cost of building the fuel cell powertrain by 95 percent since they first started testing.
The size and weight of the FCV’s powertrain has come down while maintaining a power output of 100kW. A fully-powered FCV has enough energy to power a house for a week during an emergency and engineers are even looking into creating such an external device.
Developing the vehicle was just part of the challenge and Toyota is fully aware that building a hydrogen refueling infrastructure will figure into the public’s acceptance of the new technology. They’re starting with California since that’s where the vehicle will first launch.
They’ve partnered with the University of California Irvine’s Advanced Power and Energy Program (APEP) to map out refueling locations. Taking into consideration things like traffic flow, population density, and ownership of existing hybrid and electric vehicles, they’ve estimated a starting point of 68 stations. The state of California has already approved $200 million to build 20 stations by 2015, another 40 by 2016 and up to 100 by 2024.
Toyota plans to announce the exact details of the vehicle, including its name and specifications, over the coming months.
Check out our review of another Toyota, the 2014 Toyota Avalon Hybrid…
Nicole Wakelin fell in love with cars as a teenager when she got to go for a ride in a Ferrari. It was red and it was fast and that was all that mattered. Game over. She considers things a bit more carefully now, but still has a weakness for fast, beautiful cars. Nicole also writes for NerdApproved and GeekMom.