Toyota fuel cell bus
Toyota has announced that it will begin sales of
fuel cell buses (FC buses) from early 2017, ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and
Paralympic Games. The Japanese carmaker also has plans to introduce over 100 FC
buses in Tokyo area before the sporting event, with two FC buses set to begin
plying fixed routes in the city by next year.
For instance, there are ten tanks carrying 600
litres of hydrogen, capable of providing more than 200 km of range, according
to The Asahi Shimbun. The tanks can be refuelled in about 10 minutes, and the
system will have an energy capacity of 235 kWh.
Two on-board fuel cell stacks will power a pair of
electric motors, which have a total system output of 308 PS/670 Nm. If
not used to help propel the bus, the powertrain can also be used as power
source in the event of disasters, such as at evacuation sites.
As a people mover, the FC bus is capable of ferrying
77 people (26 seated, 50 standing, and one driver). It measures 10,525 mm long,
2,490 mm wide, and 3,340 mm tall. The Asahi Shimbun reports that the Toyota FC
bus is priced at 100 million yen, about four to five times the
cost of a conventional diesel-powered bus.
Toyota considers the use of hydrogen to be the
energy of the future, and with a targeted expansion of the introduction of the
FC buses, it hopes to contribute to the realisation of a hydrogen-based
society.
