When disaster strikes, the power often goes out, and it may be a good while before it's restored. Toyota and Honda start testing the Moving e system this month, a fuel cell bus designed to serve as a mobile power source to help meet a community's emergency electricity needs.
The Moving e mobile power generation/output system is made up of a fuel cell bus from Toyota that's able to carry twice the amount of hydrogen as the FC Bus its based on, two Power Exporter 9000 portable power units from Honda, 20 LiB-AID E500 and 36 Honda Mobile Power Pack portable batteries, and charger/dischargers for the Mobile Power Packs. All in, the demonstrator is expected to generate 454 kWh and output 18 kW.
During the testing period, the fully-loaded Charging Station bus will be driven out to real-world locations within 100 km (62 mi) of a hydrogen refueling station. Toyota and Honda will then put the mobile power source through its paces in various use case scenarios, to make sure it all works as expected.
If the bus is subsequently put into service, and neither company has revealed any production plans, it's expected to power appliances and equipment in disaster zones, provide electricity to such things as evacuation centers, and could even serve as temporary shelter for those in need. Between missions, the bus could also be deployed to power outdoor events such as concerts, fetes, parties and more.
