Koji Sato, Toyota’s new and younger CEO, is just a few weeks in office, and with news of four new hydrogen car models underway already, there’s no doubt Toyota’s new CEO might just be making some really big game-changing moves that could massively impact the auto industry and retain the Japanese automaker’s place as a force to be reckoned with in the global car industry.
It’s no news that Toyota has built a reputation for being reliable, so we were all excited to see what the change in CEO would mean for Toyota as a brand. It’s normal to expect that a change in management would signify the company's intent to take things to the next level in the ever-so-competitive automotive world, and it seems Koji Sato is living up to expectations in no time at. For Toyota, hydrogen has always been the winning formula in the fight against carbon emissions. And although the company has faced strong criticism for not being quick to buy into the fully electric car concept as many other car companies have done, Toyota has been and continues to be insistent on pursuing a hydrogen-powered future for its automobile engines.
So with the release of four new hydrogen-powered Crown models underway, it’s clear Koji Sato has really begun reaffirming the company’s stand. Toyota means serious business about pursuing a hydrogen-powered net zero-emission future, and that’s a fact.
In this article, we will take a look at how Toyota’s hydrogen cars work and the four new Toyota Crown models that have been built using this technology. We will also talk about some of the challenges Toyota will have to consider as it pushes towards mass-producing hydrogen vehicles. But before we go any further, let’s begin at the top. And that’s with the four models Toyota’s cooking and how they look. The four new Crown models announced by Toyota are the Crossover Sedan, Sedan, Sport, and Estate.
The Crown Crossover has already been made available to the US market, but there are rumors that a plug-in hybrid version might already be in the works. The Crown Sport and Estate models are offered with both traditional and plug-in hybrid powertrains. This affords prospective car owners the opportunity to choose their preferred powertrain. Toyota has yet to make public the specs of the hybrid models, but it is expected that they will be similar to those of the crossover model. If this is true, then all the hybrid models will be four-wheel-drive vehicles producing about 236 to 340 horsepower.
Interestingly, the sedan won't be made available with a plug-in power option. It would instead be offered as a futuristic hydrogen FCEV inspired by the very successful Mirai. We expect that, just like the Murai, the engine will be able to deliver up to 182 horsepower with 200 lb-ft of torque. The sedan will also be offered as a two-wheel-drive vehicle. The interiors of all four models are quite similar. Toyota has revealed cars that are luxuriously furnished and comfortable.
All the Crown models are five-seaters, providing sufficient leg and headroom. The Sport is the smallest in size among them all, with a length of 185.4 inches, a width of 74 inches, and a height of 61.4 inches. The sedan is the longest in the group, with a length of 198 inches and a width of 74.4 inches. However, it has the lowest height, standing at 57.9 inches. Finally, the Crown Estate stands majestically at a height of 63.8 inches, making it the tallest in the group.
Its width is 74 inches, while its length is 194.1 inches. You might think hydrogen fuel cells are new to Toyota, but hold up for a moment. That’s actually far from the truth. In fact, Toyota began developing hydrogen fuel cells way back in 1992. As early as 1992, Toyota had already begun working on the development of hydrogen-powered FCEVs. Four years later, in 1996, the company unveiled its first series of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.
The car was fitted with its own hydrogen-absorbing unit. This design was further improved upon in 1997 with the addition of a reformer to extract hydrogen from methanol. Since then, Toyota has continually improved its fuel cell technology for better performance and improved economic value.
Toyota later obtained a license from the Japanese government to test its first fuel-cell hybrid on Japanese roads. Testing began in 2001, and in 2002, they put out the world's first fuel cell hybrid vehicles on limited lease.
In 2014, Toyota unveiled the Mirai sedan to the public. Retail sales commenced in the US in August 2015, and the Mirai has been the most successful of Toyota's hydrogen fuel cell vehicles so far. It is the first of Toyota’s FCEV models to be sold commercially. The latest generation of the Toyota Mirai was launched in 2021, with significant improvements made to it. This generation emits nothing else but pure water with a lighter and more powerful fuel cell system than the previous generations. When it comes to clean energy and efficiency, the 2021 Mirai made a bold statement, so Toyota has actually come a long way in its hydrogen fuel cell journey, but before going any further, let’s consider how Toyota’s fuel cell technology works.
The most significant thing about a fuel cell system is its zero greenhouse emissions. To achieve this, there is no combustion reaction. Now, this is unlike in diesel combustion engines, where carbon is burned. In hydrogen fuel cells, no combustion takes place at all. These fuel cells can simply be described as mini power plants that generate electricity when fed with hydrogen fuel.
The fuel cell needs a constant supply of hydrogen and oxygen to carry out this process. The hydrogen has to be added manually, while oxygen is obtained from the air outside. Hydrogen is stored in a special tank built into the vehicle. This whole process takes place in a PEM (Proton Exchange Membrane). The PEM is responsible for converting the chemical energy obtained from the oxygen and hydrogen reactions to electrical energy. Electrical energy powers the car.
Toyota fuel cell vehicles do not require separate humidifiers because part of the by-product of the chemical reaction is water, which is channeled back to humidify the membrane. The proton exchange membrane (PEM) is a set of thin plates separated by membranes. Unlike electric cars, which are powered by electricity stored in batteries, FCEVs generate their own electricity from the oxygen and hydrogen reactions. So all you need to do is fuel your car with hydrogen.
Now, FCEVs are also more time-efficient than EVs when charging. And that’s because it takes less than five minutes to fill up an FCEV tank as compared to the forty-five minutes it typically takes to fully charge an all-electric car battery. And besides this quick charging feature, Toyota’s stellar FCEV, the Mirai, has performed impressively, so if four new models are hitting the market soon, then we expect nothing less impressive in quality but even better than what we’ve seen in the Mirai. But everything really falls back to what Toyota has in its game plan.
Akio Toyoda understood that the automobiles of the future were definitely not going to be built with internal combustion engines powered by fossil fuels. ICEs have been around for over a century and have served their time. Many automakers have explored alternatives to ICEs, the most popular of these being fully electric cars. Key players in the auto industry, like Tesla, have made massive efforts to take the bull by the horn and beat all the odds to lead the way into a fully electric future for us all.
But contrary to the popular wave, Toyota has always invested more of its efforts and resources in the more expensive hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) as opposed to battery electric vehicles (BEVs). The Japanese car brand, which is reputable for being economical and fuel-efficient, has come under massive criticism for this choice, and from what we can tell, Toyota seems to be just as stoic on its chosen path as ever before.
It is still far too early in the reign of Koji Sato to know if he will walk a similar path as Akio Toyoda, but early signals indicate that he just might. In the new CEO’s first speech earlier this month, he stated that the company would pursue the mass production of hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles (FCEVs). Undoubtedly, Toyota's move towards FCEVs has a lot of potential. Most of the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions comes from the production of environmentally friendly vehicles, but it isn't without its challenges.
Getting green hydrogen fuel in the required quantity will be a challenge. The emphasis is on green hydrogen production. It wouldn't make sense to mass produce hydrogen using methods that are harmful to the environment while trying to power zero-carbon emission vehicles. Besides the challenge of mass-producing green hydrogen, the infrastructure needed to transport, store, and refuel hydrogen will also be a challenge. Car owners will need to refill their tanks often, and this requires that hydrogen fueling stations be readily available.
But how safe would it be to have such stations in residential areas? Safety remains a concern that Toyota cannot ignore. Toyota would also need to keep an eye on costs. The cost of manufacturing hydrogen FCEVs might just be a hindrance to mass production and commercialization. Toyota would have to manufacture FCEVs that are affordable and have economically efficient operating costs. However, it is not all bad news. There is growing support among countries for more investment in the development of the critical infrastructure necessary for hydrogen production and distribution.
We might never come to a conclusion on the debate about which is better between BEVs (battery electric vehicles) and FCEVs (fuel cell electric vehicles). But one thing is clear, and that is the fact that we are moving closer to the production of sustainable zero-emission vehicles. Countries like China, the United Kingdom, Canada, the US, and the European Union have remained committed to a future with net zero emissions.
0 Comments