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Fuel Cell Cars: A New Innovation from Toyota

Toyota Motor is one of the prominent auto mobile manufacturers in Japan,garrisoned at Toyota,Aichi . It is the 12th  largest company in the world by revenue . In July of 2012, the company reported the production of its 200-millionth vehicle. Toyota is the world’s first auto mobile manufacturer to produce more than 10 million vehicles per year.

The Fuel Cell Cars Concept

Fuel cells are basically the devices which converts chemical energy to electrical energy from chemical reactions of  mainly oxygen, along with other oxidising agents. Hydrogen is the paramount source of energy in fuel-cells which is absolutely obtained from the natural gases,but for adequate productivity Hydrocarbons are used directly as natural gas and while methanol is used instead of alcohol.
There is always a perpetual difference between a battery and a Fuel-Cell. While batteries produce emf(electromotive force) from the continuous reactions of chemicals present in them, the where as Fuel-Cells obligate a consistent source of the fuel and oxygen (or air) to sustain the reaction process.

LATEST PROJECT: MIRAI, THE HYDROGEN FUEL CELL CAR.

Just like when we think of hybrid cars, and “PRIUS” pops in our mind,Toyota is thinking of enhancing this feeling  by designing the HFC (Hydrogen Fuel-Celled car) in a majestic way that none has yet to compare.

The Japanese auto maker also presumes that by the following year it can sell up to 700 vehicles worldwide and can maximize it by selling 3000 vehicles alone in the US  .
as per announcement the the fuel cells are intended to be placed under the front seats while the hydrogen tanks will be resting underneath and behind the rear seats .
The estimated weight of MIRAI might just be less than that of the current LS600hL hybrid,weighing approximately 440 pounds.The car is entitled to a mileage capacity of 239 miles,eluding the odds might raise up to roughly 300 miles.
Even if it concedes a 300 mile tank,the MIRAI will be taking only 5 minutes to refill! Toyota’s fuel cell patents will be free to use within 2020, though Toyota has promised that the production and selling of hydrogen will remain eternally.Toyota is free to share its patents with other interested companies regarding the fuel production,even though they wont need any!

Currently, there are only one production plants of Toyota for fuel cell development. The plant name is Motamachi Plant.

What more I get out of a Fuel Cell Powered Car?

  • AN ELEMENTAL APPROACH TO SAFETY: The fuel cell stack isn’t some new, experimental technology. It is a tried-and-tested way to power the enlisted products, starting from Submarines to Inverters.
  • INTELLIGENT SENSORS FOR THOUGHTFUL MOTORISTS: They have designed intelligent monitoring systems for Toyota FCV, like shut-off valves that isolate the hydrogen tanks in case of emergency.
  • TOUCH SENSOR LOCK/UNLOCK DOORS: Highly capacitive sensors that automatically analyzes your fingerprints to lock/unlock doors using gesture features.
  • AERODYNAMIC STYLING WITH A SLEEK EDGE: an innovative aerodynamic design is planned for MIRAI which will allow a super intuitive driving experience along with customizable body parts.

The Mirai facilitates  the TFCS, one of best fusions of Fuel-Cell and Hybrid Technology,stacked to maximize the performance.

The advanced system of MIRAI provides a better energy proficiency than internal combustion engines, superior environmental performance with no emissions of CO2 or SOCs when driving, the same level of convenience as gasoline engine vehicles.

The Toyota FC Stack, FC boost converter and high-pressure hydrogen tanks are one of the company developed modules used in the MIRAI.

FC Boost Converter

A new compact, high-efficiency, high-capacity converter has been developed to boost power generated in the Toyota FC Stack to 650 volts. Increasing the voltage could have suppressed the size of the electric motor and the number of Toyota FC Stack fuel cells makes the MIRAI a higher-performance Toyota Fuel Cell System,results in diminishing the cost.

High-pressure Hydrogen Tanks

The company declared the Hydrogen tanks will be fabricated by carbon-fibre empowered plastic , enormously pressurised at 70 Mpa(70 mega pascals or approx 700 bars).Compared to the high-pressure hydrogen tanks used in the Toyota FCHV-adv model, 20 percent of the capacity has been increased, while both weight and size have been reduced to achieve a world-leading 6 5.7 wt%7.

BARRIERS OF THIS PROJECT:

Despite the optimism, some auto makers have for fuel cells, the technology still faces barriers. Due to the lack of Fuel filling stations most of the purchasers wont be delighted buying this car.

The extravagant price of the car could be one of the rancid clipping of the car, and intensive tax might worth up to $8,000 expired at the end of 2014, leaving cars like theMIRAI (MSRP: $57,500) far out of reach for many buyers.

PRICE OF MIRAI : Considering the incomparable technology that is being used in the car,the price is postulated to be much higher in comparison to the $120,440 LS600hL.  TechAltair has reached out to Toyota for any further info about this rumour, one way or the other. If we hear back, we’ll update the details.

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