Toyota fuel cell hybrid first to be type approved under new rules in Japan
06-17-05, 06:10 AM
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Toyota fuel cell hybrid first to be type approved under new rules in Japan
17 Jun 2005
Source: just-auto.com editorial team
Toyota Motor Corporation’s recently improved FCHV, or fuel cell hybrid passenger vehicle, has become the first vehicle in Japan to acquire vehicle type certification under the Road Vehicles Act, as amended and enacted on March 31, by Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MLIT).
Leases for the vehicle are to begin on July 1.
Fuel cell vehicles that acquire certification under MLIT’s new safety standard regarding the commercialisation and marketing of fuel cell vehicles no longer need to be certified individually. Type certification can now be acquired through the submission of representative vehicles.
Since setting out to develop fuel cell vehicles, Toyota has been independently developing all major fuel cell system components, including the all-important, electricity-producing fuel cell stack. Since limited marketing of the FCHVegan in Japan and the US in December 2002, 11 have been leased in Japan and five in the US – two of those were in Germany this week for demonstration drives at a Toyota technology seminar.
Toyota is also active in applying its fuel cell technology to buses—after first conducting real-world verification tests with a fuel cell bus prototype operating within Tokyo's metropolitan public bus system (from August 2003 to December 2004), Toyota now has eight units of its FCHV-bus transporting visitors between the Nagakute and Seto areas of the 2005 World Exposition in Aichi, Japan.
Data gathered during the use of the previous FCHV was fed back into development, resulting in the new model, which features a fuel cell system with enhanced levels of reliability and durability. The new vehicle will be offered to such customers as national and local governments, and companies in energy-related fields.
The new FCHV is fitted with new 35MPa high-pressure hydrogen tanks developed by Toyota, which can hold 10% more hydrogen than the 35MPa tanks Toyota used before, extending the cruising range from 300km to 330km in the 10-15 Japanese test cycle.
The high-pressure hydrogen storage tank also features a high-pressure valve developed within the Toyota group. This valve follows a new design that positions a solenoid shut-off valve inside the tank.
The new tank meets the technical standard for compressed hydrogen automobile fuel tanks, established in March this year as a safety standard for high-pressure hydrogen, allowing the tank to be used for 15 years, compared to the previous three years.
The motor output has been increased from 80 to 90kW, improving acceleration performance.
A choice of two exterior colours is now available, with light blue metallic added to the silver metallic that was previously available.
Source: just-auto.com editorial team
Toyota Motor Corporation’s recently improved FCHV, or fuel cell hybrid passenger vehicle, has become the first vehicle in Japan to acquire vehicle type certification under the Road Vehicles Act, as amended and enacted on March 31, by Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MLIT).
Leases for the vehicle are to begin on July 1.
Fuel cell vehicles that acquire certification under MLIT’s new safety standard regarding the commercialisation and marketing of fuel cell vehicles no longer need to be certified individually. Type certification can now be acquired through the submission of representative vehicles.
Since setting out to develop fuel cell vehicles, Toyota has been independently developing all major fuel cell system components, including the all-important, electricity-producing fuel cell stack. Since limited marketing of the FCHVegan in Japan and the US in December 2002, 11 have been leased in Japan and five in the US – two of those were in Germany this week for demonstration drives at a Toyota technology seminar.
Toyota is also active in applying its fuel cell technology to buses—after first conducting real-world verification tests with a fuel cell bus prototype operating within Tokyo's metropolitan public bus system (from August 2003 to December 2004), Toyota now has eight units of its FCHV-bus transporting visitors between the Nagakute and Seto areas of the 2005 World Exposition in Aichi, Japan.
Data gathered during the use of the previous FCHV was fed back into development, resulting in the new model, which features a fuel cell system with enhanced levels of reliability and durability. The new vehicle will be offered to such customers as national and local governments, and companies in energy-related fields.
The new FCHV is fitted with new 35MPa high-pressure hydrogen tanks developed by Toyota, which can hold 10% more hydrogen than the 35MPa tanks Toyota used before, extending the cruising range from 300km to 330km in the 10-15 Japanese test cycle.
The high-pressure hydrogen storage tank also features a high-pressure valve developed within the Toyota group. This valve follows a new design that positions a solenoid shut-off valve inside the tank.
The new tank meets the technical standard for compressed hydrogen automobile fuel tanks, established in March this year as a safety standard for high-pressure hydrogen, allowing the tank to be used for 15 years, compared to the previous three years.
The motor output has been increased from 80 to 90kW, improving acceleration performance.
A choice of two exterior colours is now available, with light blue metallic added to the silver metallic that was previously available.
06-18-05, 03:24 AM
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Originally Posted by 1SICKLEX
I didn't know they were in fuel cells too, Thanks.
they have some of the concepts there
06-25-05, 05:25 AM
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Toyota aims to cut cost of fuel-cell cars to $50000 from more than $1 million by 2005
TOKYO June 24, 2005;
Reuters reported that Honda Motor Co. aims to cut the cost of hydrogen-powered fuel-cell cars to a hundredth of the present level to make them competitive with conventional cars, its engineer in charge of developing them said on Friday.
Yozo Kami, chief engineer in Honda's research and development operation, told reporters its fuel cell cars cost about 100 times that of typical gasoline models to manufacture and it needs to slash that by a tenth to the level of high-end cars and eventually to a hundredth to make it more competitive against conventional alternatives.
Kami said fuel cell cars could have a market share of 5 percent by 2020.
Mass production of hydrogen vehicles came closer to reality on June 17 when the Japanese government approved certification of fuel cell cars made by Honda and Toyota Motor Corp.
Honda, which started limited marketing of fuel-cell vehicles in 2002, is now leasing 19 such cars to government bodies and some firms in Japan and the United States. It will expand the leases to individuals in the United States by the year-end.
Toyota leases 16 hydrogen vehicles in Japan and the United States, charging more than 1 million yen ($9,175) a month.
A Toyota spokesman said on Friday that the introduction of the environmentally friendly cars to the mass market is unlikely until 2010 at the earliest due to high costs and the need to improve fuel cell storing technology to allow long travel.
The Financial Times reported earlier this month that Toyota aims to cut the cost of fuel-cell cars to $50,000 from more than $1 million by 2015. General Motors Corp. aims to have a production-ready hydrogen vehicle by 2010 with a fuel cell that costs $5,000, it said.
source : theautochannel
Reuters reported that Honda Motor Co. aims to cut the cost of hydrogen-powered fuel-cell cars to a hundredth of the present level to make them competitive with conventional cars, its engineer in charge of developing them said on Friday.
Yozo Kami, chief engineer in Honda's research and development operation, told reporters its fuel cell cars cost about 100 times that of typical gasoline models to manufacture and it needs to slash that by a tenth to the level of high-end cars and eventually to a hundredth to make it more competitive against conventional alternatives.
Kami said fuel cell cars could have a market share of 5 percent by 2020.
Mass production of hydrogen vehicles came closer to reality on June 17 when the Japanese government approved certification of fuel cell cars made by Honda and Toyota Motor Corp.
Honda, which started limited marketing of fuel-cell vehicles in 2002, is now leasing 19 such cars to government bodies and some firms in Japan and the United States. It will expand the leases to individuals in the United States by the year-end.
Toyota leases 16 hydrogen vehicles in Japan and the United States, charging more than 1 million yen ($9,175) a month.
A Toyota spokesman said on Friday that the introduction of the environmentally friendly cars to the mass market is unlikely until 2010 at the earliest due to high costs and the need to improve fuel cell storing technology to allow long travel.
The Financial Times reported earlier this month that Toyota aims to cut the cost of fuel-cell cars to $50,000 from more than $1 million by 2015. General Motors Corp. aims to have a production-ready hydrogen vehicle by 2010 with a fuel cell that costs $5,000, it said.
source : theautochannel
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