Hydrogen has a future in the transport of the future, but industrialists rather intend this energy for buses, trains or planes rather than for private cars, for all sorts of reasons. Toyota wants to disprove this fact.
Integrating a hydrogen system into a car is not easy. Several obstacles exist, as demonstrated by the first equipped vehicles: the technology takes up a lot of space, the source of the hydrogen may not be green, and charging points are rare. Without forgetting that the manipulation of this explosive gas is not obvious.
An easy-to-use cartridge
Toyota, very involved in the development of hydrogen for domestic use, has come up with an interesting solution which takes the form of a 40 cm long cartridge, and which fits into the dedicated equipment. The cartridge can be refilled at the factory, easily transported and returned following use. According to Toyota, these containers are ” portable, cheap and convenient and help deliver hydrogen where people live, work and play.
These interchangeable cartridges have several advantages. On the one hand, it is no longer necessary to handle the hydrogen in the gaseous state, nor the transfer pipes. This also solves the problem of charging stations, which are less common than electric stations. As for the capacity of these cartridges, Toyota does not give figures. On the other hand, the manufacturer explains that a unit generates enough electricity to use a microwave oven between 3 to 4 hours.
That still doesn’t seem like much, especially given the needs of an entire house or even a car. But it’s a first step. Toyota also knows that efforts must be made upstream, ie the source of energy: hydrogen is often generated by fossil fuels, which is obviously not ideal. However, the company says it is confident in the future, saying that hydrogen production will succeed in reducing its CO2 emissions.
