Mirai Drives Toyota to Fast Company's 'Most Innovative' List

Toyota has been named one of  world’s 50 Most famous Innovative Companies for 2015 by Fast Company magazine, recognizing the company’s leadership in the development and introduction of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.

As Fast Company writes, “Toyota plans to do for fuel cells what its Prius did for hybrids: make them ubiquitous and top of mind for environmentally conscious consumers.” 

Fast Company also named Toyota as one of the most innovative companies in the auto sector, writing: “While other automakers are experimenting with fuel cells as niche vehicles, Toyota is the only one to engineer a global release, making all of its fuel-cell components in house.”
 

The full story appears in the magazine’s March 2015 issue, available now on Fast Company's  website and on newsstands February 17.

Toyota Motor Collaborates with FirstElement and Linde, hydrogen provider

Toyota said in a press release that it will collaborate with hydrogen provider Linde, which will build a public hydrogen refueling facility at the Toyota San Francisco Regional Office.

"The issue of hydrogen refueling infrastructure is not so much about how many stations; but rather, location, location, location," said 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. Stay tuned, because this infrastructure thing is going to happen."

TMS and its affiliate Totota Motor Credit Corp. (TMCC) announced that they have entered into a group of financial agreements with FirstElement to support the long – term operation and maintenance expenses of new hydrogen refueling stations in California.

The assistance and the actual quantity will be based on analysis of the grant award to FirstElement by the California Energy Commission's (CEC) Notice of Proposed Awards (NOPA) announced on 1 May and final authorization of the NOPA, expected in June.

In accordance with the terms of the agreement with Toyota, FirstElement will work to establish an integrated and reliable network of fueling stations across California in target market locations that are certified by Toyota and regular with the California Fuel Cell Partnership Road Map.

"The first few years here in California will be a critical period for hydrogen fuel cell technology," said Carter. "California has stepped up with the offer to invest 200 million dollars to build 100 stations, and through this financial arrangement with FirstElement, Toyota is showing its full commitment to deploy zero emission fuel cell vehicles here in California. Perhaps most importantly, we are showing the future owners of this amazing technology that Toyota is helping to ensure that hydrogen refueling will be available, no matter what car brand is on the hood."

Toyota announced that Linde plans to build a hydrogen fueling station on TMS owned property located in San Ramon. Calif., adjoining Toyota's San Francisco Regional Office and Parts Distribution Center. This location will serve local and regional customers, as well as act as an important connector site between the Sacramento and San Joaquin, and the San Francisco Bay Area.

"This is just a start, but it's the first step in getting to the point in the near future where this technology will move into the mainstream," said Carter.

Toyota presently operates 14 manufacturing plants. There are more than 1,800 Toyota, Lexus and Scion dealerships in North America which sold over 2.3 million vehicles in 2012.

Next Year on Sale “Toyota Car of the Future”

“We aren’t trying to re-invent the wheel: just everything necessary to make them turn,” said Bob Carter, senior vice president of automotive operations for Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A. Inc. at the opening of CES, the world’s largest trade show. “Fuel cell electric vehicles will be in our future sooner than many people believe, and in much greater numbers than anyone expected.”

Check out Westboro Toyota Prius inventory.

There were two vehicles on the stage at the Toyota press conference: The FCV concept, displaying how a four-door mid-size sedan will look in Radiant Blue, and another one, the camouflage-taped engineering prototype used for comprehensive and extreme on-road testing in North America for more than a year. The prototype has constantly delivered zero-to-sixty acceleration of about 10 seconds, with no discharge other than water vapor, on a driving field of about 300 miles. It takes three to five minutes to refuel its hydrogen tanks.

 “Hydrogen works beautifully with oxygen to create water and electricity and nothing more,” said Carter. “Four years, the use of hydrogen gas to power an electric vehicle has been seen by many smart people as a foolish quest. Yes, there are significant challenges. The first is building the vehicle at a reasonable price for many people. The second is doing what WE can to help kick-start the construction of convenient hydrogen refueling infrastructure. We’re doing a good job with both and we will launch in 2015.”

There has been massive Toyota investment in fuel cell R&D, in the last 20 years, as well as, numerous testing and expanding a series of prototypes in North America, since 2002. For those 11 years, more than a million miles, the cost of building a fuel cell powertrain has been greatly reduced. In fact, Toyota measures a 95-percent cost reduction in the powertrain and fuel tanks of the vehicle which will be launched in 2015, in comparison to what it had cost to build the original prototype in 2002.

The FCV perform a considerable engineering achievement. A fully fueled vehicle will be able to deliver enough energy to power a house for a week in an emergency. Some consideration was given to developing an external power supply device that could be used in this manner.

 “There’s no doubt, that success of this technology will depend less on the genius of the car, than on the ownership experience,” said carter. “Cost is one thing, but convenience is another.”

Initially, the vehicle will be launched in California, therefore, Toyota has partnered with the University of California, Irvine’s Advanced Power and Energy Program (APEP), to determine the potential location for new hydrogen fueling stations. This mapped system, if achieved, could handle a fuel cell population confidently predicted by APEP at about 10,000 vehicles.

California already has authorized more than $200 million in funding to build about 20 new stations by 2015, a total of 40 by 2016, and as many as 100 by 2024.

“Stay tuned,” added Carter, “because this infrastructure thing is going to happen.”