How the West Was Won: Toyota Offers Chance to Be a Fuel Cell Pioneer

When the Toyota fuel cell sedan arrives late next year, the first one will be given away to a Californian and a $100 fundraiser ticket buys a chance for the prize to be announced Oct. 18.

Toyota and the Environmental Media Association (EMA) are offering a historic opportunity to own the company’s first zero-emission hydrogen vehicle when it arrives in California in late 2015. Toyota is the first major auto manufacturer to give away a fuel cell vehicle to an individual owner.

“As the infrastructure to support the vehicle is currently only available in the golden state, prize applicants must be California residents,” says Toyota.

These may buy one ticket on biddingforgood.com or half a dozen tickets for $500.

“All monies raised will benefit programs of the EMA, a nonprofit 501(c)3 dedicated to harnessing the power of celebrity and the media to promote sustainable lifestyles,” said Toyota today in a statement.

The winner will be announced at the 24th annual EMA Awards, presented by Toyota and Lexus, on Oct. 18 at Warner Bros Studios. The EMA awards honor individuals within the entertainment industry for efforts to promote environmental messages. Toyota and Lexus have been presenting award sponsors for 14 years.

But these are the future says Toyota, which wrote a press release titled” How the West Was Won: Toyota Offers Chance to Be a Fuel Cell Pioneer.

The FCV combines hydrogen and oxygen from the air to generate electricity that can power the car approximately 300 miles on a single fill-up. Nothing but water vapor leaves the tailpipe.

“Hydrogen fuel cell technology is the next big leap in automotive history, and through this extraordinary drawing, we’re seeking bold drivers ready to embrace that future,” said Bob Carter, senior vice president of Automotive Operations, Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98CidXDLuH8

Toyota unveils FCV “Car of the future” at Aspen ideas festival 2014

Toyota is presenting a vision for the future of mobility with an interactive exhibit that brings to life arising automated vehicle technologies at the Aspen Ideas festival in June, in the US. Toyota has unveiled its commercial zero-emission hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle (FCV). 

At the press conference that was held in Japan, company officials revealed the exterior design of the FCV pre-production prototype. Interior features, along with the vehicle's name, volume, and full specifications will be released later.Toyota also announced that the FCV will go on sale in the Japan domestic market before April 2015, and then summer 2015 in Europe and the state of California. The release in other states and countries will follow. The Toyota FCV will be priced somewhere near 7 million yen, which is approximately $68,000.

“Our society is on the cusp of a revolution in personal mobility,” said Osamu Nagata, President and CEO of Toyota Motor Engineering and Manufacturing North America. “Slowly but surely, new technologies are changing how we think about automobiles and transportation -- from intelligent, automated systems that team up with drivers to improve safety, to zero-emission vehicles that emit nothing but water vapor. These technologies will help save lives, improve the environment, create jobs and help the U.S. maintain technical leadership in a field that is an important contributor to economic growth.”

The technology allows features such as “driver lock-in,” which tracks the driver’s body frame and automatically enables or disables features based upon who is interacting with the navigation panel. There are new ways in researching vehicles, new ways to use emerging wearable devices, such as smart watches, to control key vehicle functions in an effort to understand the potential impact of these devices on auto safety. In addition, the Toyota DARV 1.5 looks at new ways to create a safer driving environment by measuring driver
behaviour and providing a driving «score» based on safe driving choices. 

Toyota says that the car is «an important step forward for zero-emission vehicle technology». According to Bob Carter, the senior vice president of automotive operations for Toyota Motor Sales, the FCV will be a mid-size four-door sedan that will be rated as a zero-emission car and will have the power to travel 300 miles on a single "fill-up." One fill-up should take no more than 5 minutes. He believes that "this will be a very special vehicle. And we believe we can bring it in at a very reasonable price for a lot of people."

"The success of fuel cell technology will depend less on the genius of the car, than on the ownership experience," said Carter. "Stay tuned, because this infrastructure thing is going to happen."

Also the question is, how does one fill up a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle? Toyota's plan is to have hydrogen refueling stations built in the countries and the states that will have approach to the vehicle. Building and supporting this kind of the stations will be possible by First Element Fuels, who will be supporting Toyota in this effort.

Toyota Releasing First Hydrogen Vehicle in December

After years of research, development, debate and anticipation, Toyota is finally planning to release its first hydrogen fuel cell-powered vehicle this year in December. Toyota may also start sales for the car around the same time. With production planned for mid-December 2014 it is ahead of the schedule. Capacity will be small at first, only "dozens" of cars will be made per month.  Interior features, along with the vehicle’s name, volume, and full specifications will be released at a later date. Toyota also announced that the FCV will go on sale in the Japan domestic market before April 2015, and then summer 2015 in Europe and the state of California. 

The main problem with hydrogen cars, as it always is with new technologies, is fitting in with the current gasoline-based infrastructure. You won’t see too many hydrogen fueling stations on street corners in 2014, but Toyota has a plan to change that.

In the fall of 2015, Toyota plans to implement a large network of hydrogen refueling stations across California. This is possible due to a $7-million loan with First Element Fuel Inc, which is lead by GM marketing chief Joel Ewanick.

Jim Lentz, CEO of Toyota’s North American Region, hopes to have 50 refueling stations operating across California by the end of 2016, which may lead to the eventual US debut of Toyota’s hydrogen-powered production vehicle. 

“The success of fuel cell technology will depend less on the genius of the car, than on the ownership experience,” said Carter. “Stay tuned, because this infrastructure thing is going to happen.”

Pricing should be more or less as expected. Toyota quotes a figure of around 8 million Yen, 

or just under $80,000 at current exchange rates. That puts it among the higher end of electric vehicles on sale today in the US, and sales are likely to be small as a result. However, if Toyota's project goes to plan, it hopes to lower the car's price to 3 to 5 million Yen by 2020, as sales and production capacity allow.

“This is a zero-emission electric-drive, mid-size four-door sedan” said Bob Carter, senior vice president of automotive operations for Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A. “It produces sufficient electrical power to spin the electric motor for about 300 miles on a single fill-up which takes three to five minutes.  This is going to be a very special vehicle. And we believe we can bring it in at a very reasonable price for a lot of people.”

 

Toyota sponsors the 2014 Milken Institute Global Conference

The panel discussion by Chris Hostetter, Toyota group vice president of strategic planning was towards investment in fuel cells and hydrogen infrastructure in »The Road to Profit in Alternative Fuels.» This marked the first year that Toyota participated in the Milken Institute Global Conference, as well as the first time serving as a sponsor for this annual event.

Bringing future, or how to bring the future of fuel efficient mobility to drivers across America was a challenge posed by Toyota during the 2014 Milken Institute Global Conference which was held in Los Angeles.

“Fuel cell technology is viable and ready for the mass market,” Hostetter said. “Toyota plans to bring a fuel cell vehicle to market in 2015 or sooner. Whether powering a vehicle or lighting our campus, hydrogen will play a key role in Toyota’s future.”

In a panel titled “The Road to Profit in Alternative Fuels,” Toyota group vice president of strategic planning Chris Hostetter helped advance the national conversation around the future of the fuel cell vehicles and hydrogen refueling infrastructure. The participants discussed the business opportunity for this promising 

zero-emission technology and the investment required to make it accessible and appropriate for drivers.

2014 marks the first time Toyota has participated in the Milken Institute Global Conference, held from April 27-30 at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles, California, also this is the first time to an automotive company to sponsor the annual event in its 17-year history.

“Toyota is deeply committed to the future of fuel cell vehicles,” said Hostetter, “because it is a no compromise vehicle that offers cost, convenience, reliability, performance and safety that will match – or even exceed – traditional powertrains. But the future of fuel cells will be defined by the ownership experience and access to a convenient hydrogen infrastructure. The Milken Institute Global Conference is the perfect place to bring together energy providers, investors and a broad range of leaders to discuss how we can work together to make this technology a reality.”

Panel was moderated by Joel Kurtzman, senior fellow and executive director of the senior fellows program at the Milken Institute, and also featured co-panelists Yossie Hollander, chairman and co-founder of Fuel Freedom Foundation, Andrew Littlefair, president and chief executive officer of Clean Energy Fuels Corporation, and James Cameron, chairman of Climate Change Capital.

  
Toyota, which has put more than 6 million hybrid vehicles on the road around the world since 1997, has set hydrogen fuel cell vehicles as a key research and development priority. The company has devoted to introducing a zero-emission hydrogen fuel cell sedan (FCV) by 2015.  

For more information about the Toyota Car of the Future, please visit www.toyota.com/fuelcell.

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.”