By refining hydrogen technologies through motorsports, Toyota aims for a better hydrogen-based society.
Toyota Motor announced today that it is developing a hydrogen engine. Toyota has installed the engine on a racing vehicle based on the Corolla Sport, which it will enter in competition under ORC ROOKIE Racing flag starting with the Fuji Super TEC 24 Hours Race on 21-23 May. (AutoInformed: First Look – A Technological Tour de Force – Toyota Gen 2 Mirai Fuel-Cell Electric Sedan Starting at -$9000 Compared to Gen 1)
Plans are for the hydrogen-engine-powered race vehicle – 1.6-liter turbocharged and intercooled – to be fueled during races using hydrogen produced* at the Fukushima Hydrogen Energy Research Field in Namie Town, Fukushima Prefecture.
While aiming to expand hydrogen infrastructure by promoting hydrogen use, Toyota said intends to continue advancing efforts for economic recovery and revitalization of the Tohoku region together with all parties concerned.
Fuel cell electrified vehicles (FCEVs) such as Toyota’s Mirai use a fuel cell in which hydrogen chemically reacts with oxygen in the air to produce electricity that powers an electric motor. Instead, hydrogen engines generate power through the combustion of hydrogen using fuel supply and injection systems that have been modified from those used with gasoline engines. Except for the combustion of minute amounts of engine oil during driving, which is also occurs with gasoline engines, hydrogen engines emit zero CO2 when in use. (AutoInformed: Japan Inc: Toyota and Hino to Pioneer Light-Duty Fuel Cell Electric Trucks with Seven-Eleven, FamilyMart, and Lawson, 3000 Mirai Hydrogen Fuel Cells Sold in California)
Combustion in hydrogen engines occurs at a faster rate than in gasoline engines, resulting in a characteristic of good responsiveness. While having excellent environmental performance, hydrogen engines also have the potential to relay the “fun of driving, including through sounds and vibrations,” Toyota said.
Toyota, of course, has engaged in the innovation of engine technology for decades. Also, it is applying in production vehicles the technologies that it has continued to refine through its participation in motorsports, with the GR Yaris launched last September being one example. Toyota intends to apply the safety technologies and know-how that it has accumulated through the development of fuel cell vehicles and the commercialization of the Mirai.
*In cooperation with the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) and Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
Toyota Developing Hydrogen Engine with Motorsports
By refining hydrogen technologies through motorsports, Toyota aims for a better hydrogen-based society.
Toyota Motor announced today that it is developing a hydrogen engine. Toyota has installed the engine on a racing vehicle based on the Corolla Sport, which it will enter in competition under ORC ROOKIE Racing flag starting with the Fuji Super TEC 24 Hours Race on 21-23 May. (AutoInformed: First Look – A Technological Tour de Force – Toyota Gen 2 Mirai Fuel-Cell Electric Sedan Starting at -$9000 Compared to Gen 1)
Plans are for the hydrogen-engine-powered race vehicle – 1.6-liter turbocharged and intercooled – to be fueled during races using hydrogen produced* at the Fukushima Hydrogen Energy Research Field in Namie Town, Fukushima Prefecture.
While aiming to expand hydrogen infrastructure by promoting hydrogen use, Toyota said intends to continue advancing efforts for economic recovery and revitalization of the Tohoku region together with all parties concerned.
Fuel cell electrified vehicles (FCEVs) such as Toyota’s Mirai use a fuel cell in which hydrogen chemically reacts with oxygen in the air to produce electricity that powers an electric motor. Instead, hydrogen engines generate power through the combustion of hydrogen using fuel supply and injection systems that have been modified from those used with gasoline engines. Except for the combustion of minute amounts of engine oil during driving, which is also occurs with gasoline engines, hydrogen engines emit zero CO2 when in use. (AutoInformed: Japan Inc: Toyota and Hino to Pioneer Light-Duty Fuel Cell Electric Trucks with Seven-Eleven, FamilyMart, and Lawson, 3000 Mirai Hydrogen Fuel Cells Sold in California)
Combustion in hydrogen engines occurs at a faster rate than in gasoline engines, resulting in a characteristic of good responsiveness. While having excellent environmental performance, hydrogen engines also have the potential to relay the “fun of driving, including through sounds and vibrations,” Toyota said.
Toyota, of course, has engaged in the innovation of engine technology for decades. Also, it is applying in production vehicles the technologies that it has continued to refine through its participation in motorsports, with the GR Yaris launched last September being one example. Toyota intends to apply the safety technologies and know-how that it has accumulated through the development of fuel cell vehicles and the commercialization of the Mirai.
*In cooperation with the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) and Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.