Fuel Cell Technology - Power to the People

One of the worst winters recorded has caused many outages and has literally left many people in the dark during the last few months. Millions of people experienced this. However, what if there is a solution, what if a car, or parts of it, could provide power during an emergency? Engineers in Toyota are looking for a solution; they are looking for “enlightened” ways to do just that. 

The Toyota FCV Concept is a practical concept of the fuel cell vehicle Toyota plans to launch around 2015, as a pioneer in the development of hydrogen-powered vehicles. Highly effective while producing zero emissions, a fully fueled vehicle has enough juice to power a small house for a week in an emergency. Engineers are currently working on establishing an external power supply device to connect the car to the house and help keep the lights on.

Millions of Toyota hybrids are on the road around the world, from Prius to Highlander to Camry.  One thing is common in all of them, the batteries. In Japan, Toyota gave new life to those old hybrid battery packs, as stationary power storage systems. The units are in use since 2013, and they supply peak power to Toyota dealerships around the country.

Toyota Motor Manufacturing Alabama (TMMAL) is now studying this used battery power system in order to help power their operations and support back-up power during an emergency. As one of Toyota’s model sustainable North American plants, it’s fitting for TMMAL to be the first U.S. facility to flip this switch.