Toyota Motor Corp. said Friday that its new hydrogen powered fuel-cell car had successfully completed a long-distance road test and was shown to be 25 percent more fuel efficient than earlier versions.
The FCHV vehicle was driven about 560 kilometers (350 miles) on a single fueling and finished with 30 percent of the hydrogen still in the tank, said Yoshihiko Masuda, who heads Toyota's fuel-cell car development.
The vehicle should be able to travel 880 kilometers on a full tank of hydrogen, which is “the longest-distance journey for fuel-cell cars (on a single fueling) as far as I know,” said Masuda.
Earlier versions of the FCHV could run 330 kilometers (206 miles) without refueling. They have been leased to public offices as well as energy-related companies.
The new model is one quarter more fuel efficient due to improvements in the performance of the fuel cell, Toyota said. The fuel tank capacity has also been increased.
Japanese electronics and automakers have been active in development of fuel cells, which produce electricity through a chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen, leaving water as the only by-product.
But the environment-friendly cars face several technological challenges, such as how far they can travel on a single-fueling and the extremely high cost of production.
A pioneer of eco-friendly hybrids, Toyota is enjoying brisk demand particularly in the United States, where sky-high prices at the pump have boosted demand for its fuel efficient vehicles.
