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Hydrogen could deliver one fifth of world carbon cuts by 2050, industry says

BONN, Germany — Increasing the use of hydrogen in power, transport, heat and industry could deliver around one fifth of the total carbon emissions cuts needed to limit global warming to safe levels by mid-century, a report by the Hydrogen Council said on Monday. To encourage industries to use hydrogen, Toyota and Air Liquide helped set up the Hydrogen Council, a global lobby launched in January this year. Its 27 members include automakers Audi, BMW, Daimler, Honda and Hyundai, and energy firms such as Shell and Total. The council said using hydrogen for transport, energy generation, energy storage, industry, heat and power could cut annual carbon emissions by 6 billion tonnes by 2050. "This would ... contribute roughly 20 percent of the additional abatement required to limit global warming to two degrees Celsius," the council said in a report released on the sidelines of a U.N. climate conference in Bonn. To achieve a two-degree limit this century agreed by governments in Paris in 2015, the world must reduce energy-related carbon emissions by 60 percent by 2050. The report said one in 12 cars sold in California, Germany and Japan were expected to be powered by hydrogen by 2030. By 2050, hydrogen could power 400 million cars, 15 million to 20 million trucks, around 5 million buses, a quarter of passenger ships and a fifth of non-electrified train tracks, as well as some airplanes and freight ships. Achieving this shift in transport and other sectors would require investment of $280 billion by 2030, with about $110 billion to fund hydrogen output, $80 billion for storage, transport and distribution, and $70 billion to develop products. Fuel cell vehicles combine hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity to power an electric motor, producing water as a byproduct. However, making hydrogen from fossil fuels, a common route, also produces some greenhouse gas emissions. So far the take-up of hydrogen vehicles is tiny and industry experts say their wider use is years away, with high purchase prices and a lack of refueling stations the major barriers. But some firms, such as miner Anglo American and carmaker Toyota, are pushing for fuel cell cars to play a role even with the rise of battery-powered electric vehicles (EVs). Woong-chul Yang, vice chairman of automotive research and development at Hyundai said EVs and hydrogen fuel cell cars were needed because EVs were better for city driving and fuel cell vehicles better for longer journeys.

Toyota struggling in Latin American market, attempting recovery

With uncertainty in the US and Chinese markets, automakers are scrambling to rev up their efforts in what were traditionally secondary markets. Take Toyota's efforts in Latin America. A recent story from The Wall Street Journal highlights the Japanese brand's push in the southern hemisphere, particularly in Brazil, where it has expanded its operations and installed new executives with a greater range of powers, all in a bid to grab a bigger slice of the ever-growing South American pie.
South America is dominated by General Motors, Fiat and Volkswagen, which maintain a combined 60 percent of the market share - Toyota holds a mere 4.5 percent. The WSJ spoke with Steve St. Angelo, Toyota's boss in Latin America, who said, "We are playing catch up, but we're catching up fast. We now have the resources to give the region the attention it really needs and deserves."
That attention includes an all-new, locally produced small car called the Etios. As bewildering as it seems, Toyota wasn't competing in the low-cost economy car market in South America. With the Etios, which arrived in September of 2012, its sales in the first seven months of 2013 are up 75 percent.

Next Toyota Prius may get optional all-wheel drive

We've been hearing rumors about the next generation of the Toyota Prius for the last couple of years on a pretty regular basis. From the expectation of lithium-ion battery packs with more capacity for electric-only miles to wireless charging and more emotional styling, there's been no shortage of talking points for the car that's expected to see its first light of day at the very end of 2015 (we hope). But one thing we've yet to hear about, until now that is, is all-wheel drive. According to a report from Automotive News, Koei Saga, senior managing officer in charge of powertrain development of the Prius, said in an interview last week, "I think we will possibly do [all-wheel drive]" for the car's next generation. There isn't any further indication on how the AWD system would work, but we'd put our money on something similar, at least in principle, to the E-Four system that just debuted on the 2015 Lexus NX 300h, which uses an electric motor mounted at the rear to power the car's back wheels when the front wheels lose traction. The AN report also repeats a rumor we've heard before – that Toyota may offer two different battery pack options in its next Prius, one using lithium-ion chemistry and one using the nickel metal hydride technology that the Prius has featured from its very beginning. While the automaker has yet to talk efficiency, it's natural to expect more capacity for EV driving from newer lithium-based technology over that of nickel-based packs to go along with what we'd also expect would be a somewhat higher price. We're sure you're just as curious about the next Prius as much as we are, and so we'll leave you with these words, again from Saga: "The batteries will be renewed. Everything will be revised. And I think we will come up with a fuel economy that will surprise everyone."