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Tadashi
Arashima, President and CEO
Toyota Motor Europe, said: “We
firmly believe that fuel cell
hybrid vehicles will play a
major role in reducing emissions
and achieving sustainable
mobility, alongside petrol and
plug-in hybrids and pure
electric vehicles. These various
applications of full hybrid
technology will each play their
role and co-exist in the future.
“Toyota
aims at the commercialization of
fuel cell vehicles around 2015.
To achieve this goal a hydrogen
charging infrastructure is
necessary, so close tie-ups
between
car manufacturers and
infrastructure companies are of
vital importance. "
Other
CEP partners are setting up
“CO2-free” and
hydrogen filling stations at key
locations between Berlin and
Hamburg and the partnership is
also campaigning to increase the
proportion of hydrogen fuel
produced from renewable sources
to 50 per cent.
Toyota
alternative energy powertrain
technologies at Geneva
Toyota
is showcasing its latest
developments in EV (electric
vehicle), plug-in hybrid
vehicles, battery design and
hydrogen fuel cell hybrid
technologies at the Geneva motor
show.
The
presentation includes the FT-EVII
concept, the precursor of a
production small commuter EV
model that Toyota plans to
market in the USA in 2012.
Where
plug-in hybrid technology is
concerned, the first 600 Prius
Plug-in-Hybrids are already on
the road in a worldwide leasing
project, including around 200 in
Europe. Toyota will analyse the
way the cars, charging patterns
and user feedback with a view to
verifying the car’s overall
environmental and technological
performance before it is put on
general sale.
Toyota
is also advancing battery
technology, through its own
research department established
in 2008, and a jointly funded
partnership with Panasonic EV
Energy (PEVE) which will see
three facilities in Japan
manufacturing more than one
million battery packs a year by
September.
Although
lithium-ion batteries deliver a
superior volume energy density
and quicker recharging than the
nickel-metal hydride type, they
are more expensive to produce.
Toyota is seeking ways of
significantly reducing their
cost, or identifying a more
affordable alternative.
The
Toyota FCHV-adv is also on show
at Geneva, demonstrating the
company’s success in improving
driving range and very cold
weather operation. Compared to
the original FCHV, the world’s
first production fuel cell
vehicle, its high pressure
hydrogen storage tanks give a
cruising range of more than 500
miles – more than twice that
of its predecessor.
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