Toyota predicts that the third generation of the Mirai, its hydrogen car, will cost the same as a hybrid

Toyota continues its offensive in the hydrogen sphere and has very high expectations. The Japanese firm believes that the price of cars powered by fuel cells will be the same as that of hybrids in 10 years.

According to Autonews Europe, Toyota is close to launching the second generation of the Mirai, and says it will have the third generation ready in a decade at a price similar to that of a hybrid. Currently the Mirai is sold in the US and Japan, and in Germany for a price that starts at 66,000 euros without taxes.

The Argentine hydrogen project that makes school in the world

Hydrogen is associated in the popular imagination as the fuel of the future. As a validation of this extended inference, Japan has already anticipated that for the Olympic Games next year in Tokyo all the transport of athletes and visitors will be with hydrogen cars and buses, as well as the supply of energy, water and heat for the Olympic village. In continuity with that same imaginary anchoring, most Argentines would be amazed to learn that in a semi-desert wasteland of Patagonia, on the outskirts of Comodoro Rivadavia (Chubut), a clean hydrogen production plant has been operating for more than 10 years. which is among the most advanced of its kind worldwide. And yet, to the surprise of almost everyone, it is like that. In that eminently hydrocarbon territory, where oil was discovered in 1907, the company Hychico, a subsidiary of a local group with energy assets in the region, has a plant for the industrial production of hydrogen from renewable energies. It is what is known in the jargon as clean hydrogen, unlike that produced in refineries of petroleum derivatives, of synthetic origin.

ABB develops first ship that will be driven by hydrogen in the world

ABB is developing a propulsion and energy solution for a fluvial vessel operating on the Rhône river in France, which will operate exclusively with hydrogen fuel cells. The company strengthens its position in this hydrogen fuel cell technology through its participation in Flagships, an initiative financed by the European Union to achieve zero emissions in commercial vessels operating in the open sea. Under this initiative, ABB will provide an energy and propulsion solution based on fuel cells for the ship operated by the Compagnie Fluviale de Transport (CFT) based in France as part of the Sogestran Group. The vessel will be delivered in 2021.

What will happen when hydrogen cars are affordable?

The hydrogen fuel cell was one of the technologies that allowed the arrival of man on the Moon. It allowed the astronauts to have fresh water and electricity. In the automotive world it has been experimented with during the last 30 years, but they are still far from being a daily commercial reality.

It is true that there are some models of fuel cells already rolling and in the hands of individuals -normally in a leasing regime- such as the Toyota Mirai, Honda Clarity, Hyundai Nexo or the Mercedes-Benz GLC F-CELL. They are still too expensive for the precious materials needed for batteries. Unlike electric cars, which charge externally generated energy, fuel cell cars generate their own on-board energy from hydrogen and oxygen in common air.

Did you know that Energy Transition Day has taken place? Sustainability in the Assembly Hall of CIEMAT organized by APPICE?

The presentation was given by the Director of the Department of Energy of CIEMAT, Mrs. María Luisa Castaño, who was accompanied by Mrs. Loreto Daza, President of APPICE and Head of the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Group of the Institute of Catalysis and Petrochemistry (CSIC), and by Mr. Tomás González Ayuso, Head of the Fuel Cells and System Integration Unit of CIEMAT.

In Panel 1 of papers, Mrs. Loreto Daza spoke, with her conference entitled Sustainable Energy Consumption or Evacuation to Mars, and Mr. Ángel Martínez Martínez, Director of Programs at JALVASUB Engineering, with his Conference entitled Technological Challenges in the Transportation Sector.

In Panel 2 of papers took part Mrs. Begoña Ruiz de Gordejuela Hidalgo, Higher Chemical Engineer in Hydrogens of the Nervión by H2Planet, with his Conference entitled Contribution of the fuel cells to our life. Projects that are already a reality; Mr. José Manuel Fenollar, of MODULAB Arquitectura y Vivienda S.L., with his Conference titled Energy Efficiency and Sustainability in Building; and finally, and closing the day, intervened Mr. Javier Brey Sánchez, CEO of H2B2 Electrolysis Technologies and Vice President of APPICE, with his conference entitled Hydrogen as a way to an energy transition.