An alternative to electric powered cars

Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota) announced just recently, toward the achievement of a carbon-neutral mobility society, it is developing a new hydrogen engine. The engine is now installed on a racing car based on Toyota's Corolla Sport, which it will enter in competition under the Japanese ORC ROOKIE Racing banner starting with the Super Taikyu Series 2021 Powered by Hankook Round 3 NAPAC Fuji Super TEC 24 Hours Race on May 21-23.

This is in connection with the continuing the development of their Toyota Fuel Cell System Technology that was launched with the Mirai Car Model in Los Angeles in 2014.

The name Mirai means “future” in Japanese. Toyota knows that to make this system work, it has to be reliable and durable enough and accessible and attractive to the present automotive market. Although Mirai has an extremely advanced technology and uses a new type of fuel, it is still an electric car using hydrogen a fuel to create electric power.

The only drawback with the Mirai, for now, is the cost of Hydrogen. In the US, hydrogen is $16.70 or right about P850 per kilo. The Mirai's tank holds 5.6 kg which equates to P4,760 per full tank. The Mirai runs at around 570km with a full tank. 

But the Hydrogen prices are considered to drop significantly by 2025 as more and more motorists will use this type of fuel. We hope that by that time, it will also enter the Philippine Market.

With other automotive companies channeling their efforts to the electrification of cars, Toyota’s commitment to hydrogen fuel-cell technology has never been so strong. But the technology with the Mirai is different though from the set-up the automaker is using in this Corolla Sport. The Mirai uses hydrogen fuel to convert electricity and power with an onboard electric motor. The Corolla Sport is equipped with an internal combustion engine that harnesses hydrogen and borrows the same All Wheel Drive platform from the Yaris hot hatch. Basically, it’s a modified internal gasoline engine that’s modified to burn hydrogen instead. 

By honing the research and development of the new hydrogen engine in the harsh environment such as motorsports, Toyota aims to streamline the development and the realization of a sustainable and prosperous mobility society.(source: Toyota.com)