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Toyota FCV Concept comes one step closer to reality

When Toyota first conceptualized a gasoline-electric hybrid vehicle for mainstream Americans to drive, the initial response was pretty skeptical. Still, through relentless engineering and solid product after solid product, Toyota has built the Prius brand into the dominant force in the hybrid car market.
Something like that plan of attack is what the Japanese company is preparing for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, as well, and that attack is seeing a critical salvo fired today with the debut of this FCV Concept at the Tokyo Motor Show.
Though there's nothing substantive to be said about rumors of a 300-mile range or a sticker price around $50,000, the FCV concept does offer a few technical details. The sharp-beaked concept makes use of two high-pressure hydrogen tanks and boasts a power output density of three kilowatts per liter.

Toyota teams with FirstElement Fuel on 19 hydrogen stations in California

Cross Toyota with a former General Motors and Hyundai executive and you might just get some real momentum when it comes to hydrogen refueling station deployment. Toyota and FirstElement Fuel Inc., which is headed by ex-GM and Hyundai executive Joel Ewanick, are working together on a project designed to complement California's agreement to spend about $200 million building 100 stations in the state. And while Toyota didn't put out any specific numbers, Automotive News reports that FirstElement received a $27.6 million grant from the California Energy Commission to build 19 stations, which will be sited at existing fueling spots and spaced far enough apart to be reachable by anyone within the state. In all, California has granted $47 million for the deployment of 28 new stations. Additionally, Toyota will get Linde to build a refueling station on a Toyota-owned property in the San Francisco Bay Area's San Ramon, Calif. Toyota, which is targeting a full-tank range of 300 miles and a five-minute refueling time for its fuel-cell sedan, had its fuel-cell prototype make its North American debut at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January. The company said at the time that 68 stations could serve 10,000 hydrogen vehicles. And while that station number doesn't sound terribly high, consider that there are fewer than 10 hydrogen refueling stations in California now. Check out Toyota's press release below and Autoblog's impressions from a drive of one of Toyota's fuel-cell prototypes late last year here. Toyota Collaborates with FirstElement, Providing Financial Assistance to Facilitate a Hydrogen Refueling Network in Targeted California Locations Toyota also will collaborate with hydrogen provider Linde, which will build a public hydrogen refueling facility at the Toyota San Francisco Regional Office May 01, 2014 TORRANCE, Calif. (May 1, 2014) – "The issue of hydrogen refueling infrastructure is not so much about how many stations; but rather, location, location, location," stated Bob Carter, senior vice president, Automotive Operations, Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. (TMS), just four months ago at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas where he unveiled a hydrogen fuel cell sedan due to launch in 2015. "Solutions are being found through collaboration between government, academia, carmakers and energy providers.

Recharge Wrap-up: Mirai earns Toyota "Most Innovative" honor, Tesla cold-weather range

A Tesla driver has graphed the effect of cold weather on the driving range of his Model S. Rob at Teslarati kept track of the amount of miles driven and energy used and mapped that against temperature readings to find how the colder temperatures affect efficiency. The results were an average of 10 miles of range lost for every 10-degree drop in temperature. Also, he calculated that drivers will lose about 25 percent more range when the roads are slippery. Read more at Teslarati. Albany Engineered Composites (AEC) is teaming with automotive engineering and consulting company Ricardo to provide lightweight components to the automotive industry. AEC produces composites for the aerospace industry, and having proven themselves in that field, they show promise for helping automakers make their cars lighter and more efficient without sacrificing structural integrity. "The agreement announced today is excellent news for our global automotive customers as we work to find further weight reductions in vehicles to meet future CO2 reductions," says Ricardo CEO Mark Garrett. With carbon composite prices expected to drop, Garrett believes this is an "attractive solution" for structural components. Read more at Ricardo's website. Toyota Motor Europe (TME) wants to recover all of its hybrid batteries for remanufacturing. TME currently recovers 91 percent of Toyota and Lexus batteries at the end of the vehicles' lives through dealerships, and is now working with independent end-of-life vehicle treatment operators to recover the rest. Beyond just being recycled, Toyota is looking into remanufacturing batteries for other vehicles or for stationary energy storage systems. Read more in the press release below. Fast Company Magazine has recognized Toyota as one of the 50 Most Innovative Companies for 2015 for its Mirai fuel cell sedan. "Toyota plans to do for fuel cells what its Prius did for hybrids: make them ubiquitous and top of mind for environmentally conscious consumers," says Fast Company. The article also notes that Toyota has also made its fuel cell patent public and invested in hydrogen fueling infrastructure. Toyota is ranked number 18 in the Most Innovative list, just below Tesla. Read more at Fast Company.