TOYOTA ALTERNATIVE FUELS REACH NEW MILESTONES

The cutting edge of hydrogen-fuel and hybrid-electric technology is here, ushered in by new concepts and innovations. Toyota is increasing the range of fuel-cell vehicles. Here's your chance to see how far it's come.

Readers may know that Toyota is investing an estimated $8 billion annually in research and development. Increasingly in recent years, Toyota's R&D expenditures are directed to forms of transportation that reduce vehicle emissions and extend the life of global fuel reserves.

Here are reports on three recent developments along these lines:

Environmentally considerate concept car
Visitors to the Tokyo Motor Show in late October were shown a remarkable Toyota concept vehicle that aims to "harmoniously exist with people and society." This 4-door vehicle has an interior space on par with that of the Prius but aims for one-third its weight and twice its fuel efficiency.

The 1/X -- it's pronounced "one-exth," suggesting one-xth the weight and fuel consumption of other vehicles in its class -- combines flex-fuel vehicle technology and a plug-in hybrid powertrain. With an engine displacement of only 500cc and a system that can be charged from an external power source for longer electric-motor cruising distance, the 1/X is designed to emit much less CO₂.

The 1/X, weighing less than 1000 pounds, adopts a light but highly rigid carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic throughout the body frame to help ensure superior collision performance while allowing narrower pillars for a better field of vision. Its powertrain, which is capable of running on a mixture of gasoline and ethanol, is located beneath the rear seat in a midship, rear-wheel-drive configuration.

Plug-in hybrids now in testing
If you are one of the many Toyota loyalists eager to see the company develop a Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV), take heart: the first experimental test vehicles are rolling into view.

In July, Toyota announced that prototype plug-in versions of the current Toyota Prius are being placed in test programs with two U.S. universities. At the same time, Toyota's plug-in hybrid was certified for testing on public roads in Japan by the nation's Ministry of Transportation.

PHEV prototypes have been provided to the Advanced Power and Energy Program at the University of California, Irvine and to the Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. The Irvine campus focuses on technical and infrastructure matters; Berkeley studies consumer and market aspects.

The test vehicles, based on today's Prius, are fitted with oversized nickel-metal hydride batteries. These will enable the vehicles to simulate the performance Toyota wishes to achieve when advanced batteries become available for production vehicles.

Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles obtain electric power from household connections and store it in on-board battery packs that also receive power from the engine. The objective of a system like this is to extend the vehicle's electric drive capability, ideally permitting short trips that consume mainly electric power and little to no gasoline.

Increasing the range of fuel-cell vehicles
September was a busy month for the worldwide team of experts working on Toyota's fuel-cell vehicles. In that month, long-distance test-drives were made in North America and Japan.

Bill Reinert, national manager in the advanced technology group at Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc., led a team that drove the current-version Toyota Fuel Cell Hybrid Vehicle (FCHV) from Fairbanks, Alaska, to Vancouver, British Columbia -- a distance of 2300 miles.

On this long North American run, Toyota's FCHV averaged more than 300 miles per fueling, which was provided by mobile hydrogen tanks and refueling facilities. At each refueling stop, the vehicle had hydrogen in reserve. The vehicle was driven on extremely rough roads and, when on improved sections of the Alcan Highway, was run at speeds of up to 90 mph for extended periods. It was also driven in temperatures approaching freezing -- well above the vehicle's subzero starting capability.

Throughout the trip, Toyota's FCHV performed flawlessly. Find out more about the Toyota FCHV's 2300-mile journey.

In Japan a week later, a similar Toyota FCHV completed a 350-mile road test from Osaka to Tokyo on a single fueling of hydrogen.

The FCHV used in the two trips is a version of Toyota's Highlander SUV, a 5-passenger vehicle that weighs 4145 pounds and uses nickel-metal hydride batteries. It is 25% more efficient than earlier versions because of improvements in the Toyota-developed, high-performance Toyota FC Stack fuel cell and improvements in the control system for managing fuel-cell output and battery charging/discharging. The FCHV also features Toyota-developed hydrogen tanks capable of storing approximately twice as much as previous tanks. These improvements make possible a designed cruising range of 780 kilometers or 485 miles on a single fueling, using Japan's 10-15 fuel economy test cycle.

Toyota continues to work on a variety of issues related to hydrogen storage methods and the hydrogen supply infrastructure. The development of fuel-cell hybrid vehicles remains an important goal of Toyota's sustainability efforts.

Concept vehicle(s) shown.