As
announced, Toyota lifted the veil off its FCV fuel cell concept vehicle
during the opening of the 2014 CES, adding its production fuel cell
vehicle will be launched in 2015.
Two vehicles shared the stage at the Toyota press conference: The FCV
concept, showing what the four-door mid-size sedan will look like in
Radiant Blue; and the camouflage-taped engineering prototype used for
extensive and extreme on-road testing in North America for more than a
year.
Toyota explained the prototype has consistently delivered a driving
range of about 300 miles, zero-to-sixty acceleration of about 10
seconds, with no emissions, other than water vapor. Refueling of its
hydrogen tanks takes three to five minutes.
“We aren’t trying to re-invent the wheel; just everything necessary
to make them turn,” said Bob Carter, senior vice president of automotive
operations for Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A. Inc., at the opening of
CES. “Fuel cell electric vehicles will be in our future sooner than
many people believe, and in much greater numbers than anyone expected.
Hydrogen works beautifully with oxygen to create water and electricity
and nothing more. For years, the use of hydrogen gas to power an
electric vehicle has been seen by many smart people as a foolish quest.
Yes, there are significant challenges. The first is building the vehicle
at a reasonable price for many people. The second is doing what WE can
to help kick-start the construction of convenient hydrogen refueling
infrastructure. We’re doing a good job with both and we will launch in
2015.”
Toyota added for the last 20 years, the company’s investment in fuel
cell R&D has been massive. Since 2002, Toyota has been testing and
developing a series of prototypes in North America. In those 11 years –
and more than a million miles – it said it has dramatically reduced the
cost of building a fuel cell powertrain.
Toyota said it estimates a 95-percent cost reduction in the
powertrain and fuel tanks of the vehicle it will launch in 2015,
compared to what it cost to build the original prototype in 2002.
According to Toyota, the FCV represents a major engineering
achievement, where the size and weight of its powertrain system was
significantly reduced while maintaining an impressive total power output
of more than 100 kilowatt.
A fully-fueled vehicle will be capable of supplying enough energy to
power a house for a week in an emergency, per Toyota. Engineers are
currently looking to develop an external power supply device that could
be used in this manner.
“There’s no doubt, that the success of this technology will depend
less on the genius of the car, than on the ownership experience,” said
Carter. “Cost is one thing, but convenience is another.”
Toyota’s
FCV will be a hybrid using a sub-2-kwh battery and regenerative braking
a la Prius, with the FC stack instead of engine.
Focusing on California, where the vehicle will be launched initially,
Toyota explained it has partnered with the University of California
Irvine’s Advanced Power and Energy Program (APEP) to help map out
potential locations for new hydrogen fueling stations.
The APEP spatial model considers a variety of data including R.L.
Polk ownership of hybrid and electric vehicles, traffic patterns,
population density, and so on. The model is based on the assumption
that owners want to reach a refueling station within 6-minutes.
What the model produced was an initial cluster map that requires 68
station sites in the San Francisco Bay area and Silicon Valley, as well
as Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties. If implemented, the
mapped system could handle a fuel cell population conservatively
estimated by APEP at about 10,000 vehicles.
California has approved more than $200 million in funding to build
about 20 new stations by 2015, a total of 40 by 2016, and as many as 100
by 2024. To help guide the construction of new stations, the APEP model
is being used by:
- the California Energy Commission,
- the Governor’s Zero Emission Vehicle Initiative,
- the California Air Resources Board,
- the U.S. Department of Energy
- and the California Fuel Cell Partnership.
“Stay tuned,” added Carter, “because this infrastructure thing is going to happen.”
Specific sales volumes of the FCV will be announced closer to launch.
Carter said that Toyota has revised initial market plans and requested
additional vehicles.
Carter added that more information will be announced in the weeks and
months ahead, including U.S. sales volume targets, the name of the
vehicle and comprehensive specifications and performance data.
In the meantime, Toyota has setup www.toyota.com/fuelcell for information.