Toyota have successfully developed a zero-emissions car that runs on hydrogen, and can travel as far as 516 miles on a single tank.
The environmentally-friendly FCHV-adv is the latest model of fuel-cell hydrogen powered cars, and is already considerably better than it's Toyota predecessors. Toyota have improved fuel efficiency by 25 per cent by renovating the fuel-cell unit and tweaking the brake system amongst other things. The all-new FCHV-adv also has a bigger fuel tank and a significant increase in storage pressure. This allows the vehicle to travel up to 97 miles per hour (157 kph) and to run for 516 miles - the previous model only had the ability to manage 205 miles.
The benefits of owning one of these fuel-cell cars are numerous. Not only are they entirely emissions-free (the vehicle emits only water) but they also run on hydrogen: a cheap fuel which is inexhaustible. Petrol-heads will be very pleased to learn that these hydrogen fuelled machines achieve all of these things without compromising driving performance. Despite these advantages, a major problem for the fuel-cell car market is the lack of established fuelling stations - a huge rehaul would be required in order to accomodate the new vehicle's fuel type, and it would be extremely expensive.
The history of the fuel-cell vehicle is rather short: both Toyota and Honda brought one into existence in late 2002. Ever since their has been an ongoing struggle between the rival companies to bring their vehicles into mass-production and commercialization.
So how do the flagships of these two companies compare so far? Toyota'a FCHV-adv employs a nickel-metal hydride battery which can withstand temperatures as low as -30 degrees celsius. Honda's equivalent - the sporty FCX Clarity - is a sedan car which uses a lithium-ion battery and can withstand the same extremes of temperatures as the Toyota. However, performance-wise the Honda is a little inferior. Its fuel tank only allows it to run for a maximum of 385 miles. That's significantly less than the 516 miles the Toyota pushes. The Honda FCX Clarity does provide the driver with slightly more speed though - it can reach 99 miles per hour: a whole 2 miles per hour faster than the Toyota.
Honda are currently ahead of their rival Toyota in the race to get its fuel-cell vehicles on the road. They will lease the cars in the United States this month - by the end of the year they will also lease them in Japan. Honda's target is to sell 200 units between these two countries within 3 years.
The Toyota FCHV-adv will be revealed and showcased at next month's G8 summit in Japan. 70 other hybrid cars and buses will also be on show during this event.
Related posts
Posted under Articles, Environmental News
This post was written by Ben Willis on June 9, 2008