Toyota fuel cell bus tested in Tokyo

July 24, 2015

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The Toyota-Hino fuel-cell bus is undergoing real-world tests in Tokyo

Toyota and Hino Motors have begun testing a jointly-developed fuel cell bus in Tokyo, Japan. The brief test, which is taking place on public roads in the central and waterfront areas of the city, is designed to will help Toyota evaluate and improve the technology ahead of a possible market launch.

A number of other cities around the world have either begun testing or rolling out buses that do not rely on burning fossil fuels. London and Gothenburg have seen electric buses introduced to their fleets, while hydrogen fuel cell buses were being trialled in Hamburg and north-east China as early as 2009.

The Toyota-Hino bus is powered by the Toyota Fuel Cell System developed for use in the Toyota Mirai.

The system features two fuel cell stacks and motors alongside eight high-pressure hydrogen tanks that can store up to 480 l (106 gal) of hydrogen. It can produce a maximum power output of 114 kW in each of its two units.

Source: Toyota

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3 comments

Freyr Gunnar July 24, 2015 01:12 PM

> A number of other cities around the world have either begun testing or rolling out buses that do not rely on burning fossil fuels.
That hydrogen is extracted from natural gas. A fossil fuel whose peak shouldn't be very far after peak oil.

yawood July 27, 2015 08:21 AM

@Freyr. That's not the point. The fact is that it is using hydrogen which is clean burning and plentiful. OK, present technology means that it might come from a fossil fuel for now but there are so many other ways of getting hydrogen and each of them is being developed as we speak. In the not too distant future one of these (or one that hasn't been thought of yet) will be developed to the point of being viable and economic. In the meantime the use of that hydrogen will be refined and developed by having these buses (and other vehicles) running around in real-world environments so that lessons can be learned and decisions made as to how best to use the hydrogen that is coming from those future processes.

Dziks July 27, 2015 11:28 AM

In my city are running few EV (with fuel cells) buses. The 5 years test program finished with success and hopefully there will be more of these on the streets. In compare to diesel wit automatic transmission these EVs are much more quiet and rides smoother = more comfortably.