In mid-2008, the US Department of Energy (DOE), Savannah River National Laboratory (SNRL) and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), approached Toyota to participate in a collaborative evaluation of the real world driving range of the FCHV-adv. At the end of June, two fuel cell vehicles, two Toyota Technical Center engineers, an SRNL engineer and a NREL engineer completed a 331.5 mile extended round trip drive between Torrance, California and San Diego.
“This evaluation of the FCHV-adv demonstrates not only the rapid advances in fuel cell technology, but also the viability of this technology for the future,” said Jared Farnsworth, Toyota Technical Center advanced powertrain engineer.
The drive began at Toyota Motor Sales headquarters in Torrance, travelled north to Santa Monica, turned south to San Diego and finally retraced the route back to Torrance. The route encompassed a variety of drive cycles, including high speed highway driving, moderate highway driving and stop and go traffic on surface streets, in an effort to capture a typical commute. Each vehicle was outfitted with a data collection system that captured vehicle speed, distance travelled, hydrogen consumed, hydrogen tank pressure, temperature and internal tank volume.
Driving range data from each vehicle was calculated by SRNL and NREL engineers. The results were averaged for an estimated range of 431 miles, with an average fuel economy of 68.3 miles/kg.
Greater range, lower cost than gasoline
For comparison, the 2009 Toyota Highland Hybrid achieves an EPA-estimated rating of 26 mpg combined fuel economy and has a full-tank range of approximately 450 miles. With premium grade gasoline currently priced at about $3.25, the gasoline-powered V6 Highlander hybrid is estimated to travel approximately 26 miles at a cost of about $3.25. Currently, hydrogen gas pricing is not fixed, but DOE targets future pricing at $2 to $3 per kilogram. Therefore, the FCHV-adv is estimated to travel approximately 68 miles at a projected cost of about $2.50 - more than double the range of the Highlander Hybrid, at equal or lesser cost, while producing zero emissions.
SRNL and NREL analysed all data gathered during the evaluation and prepared a formal report to DOE verifying range results and miles per kilogram achieved. This report will assist regulators and government research programs to accurately assess the status of the fuel cell industry and viability of the current technology.
“Toyota’s hydrogen fuel cell technology has advanced rapidly over the last two years,” said Irv Miller, Toyota Motor Sales group vice president, environmental and public affairs. “In 2015, our plan is to bring to market a reliable and durable fuel cell vehicle with exceptional fuel economy and zero emissions, at an affordable price.”
New hybrid
It has also been reported recently that Toyota has plans to develop a new hybrid to outdo its highly successful Prius. According to reports in the Asahi newspaper, the company plans to release a cheaper compact hybrid with better fuel-efficiency than the new best-selling Prius hybrid as early as 2011.
Toyota's new gas-electric hybrid-only compact, will use the platform and engine of the Yaris compact and will be more cost competitive and fuel efficient than the Prius, the Asahi said, with a fuel efficiency of more than 40 km per litre and a price of around ¥1.5 million, some ¥500,000 lower than the Prius and Honda’s Insight.
According to Asahi, Honda's Insight became the first hybrid to top the monthly ranking of best-selling cars in Japan in April, while Toyota's fully remodelled Prius, which debuted three months after the Insight, was No.1 in May. Toyota may produce the new hybrid not only in Japan but also in France for sale in Europe.
The new Toyota hybrid compact is expected to compete with the hybrid version of Honda's Fit compact, which will debut in Japan next year. Toyota will also raise its daily production target in Japan to 13,500 units in September and 13,700 in October, nearly double the levels in February-April, as government subsidies in and outside Japan help boost demand, the daily said.
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