Imagine driving a car that doesn't emit harmful fumes but clean water instead? Then we will have a clean and green environment.
A hydrogen-powered vehicle (HPV) was displayed at the 3rd International Conference on Future Mobility (ICFM) in Dubai on Tuesday. The car called Mirai (which means 'The Future' in Japanese) is manufactured by Japanese carmaker Toyota.
Speaking to Khaleej Times on the sidelines of the ICFM, Saud Abbasi, managing director of Toyota-UAE, said unlike conventional vehicles which run on gasoline or diesel, HPVs are powered by fuel cells that combine hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity, which runs the motor. No fumes are emitted; only water is produced as a by-product by converting hydrogen gas into electricity. And the water is said to be clean enough to drink.
He added that when it comes to UAE Vision 2021, which is aimed at reducing the country's dependence on fossil fuel, hybrid cars and electric vehicles are not the only game in town.
Abassi said hydrogen-powered cars run on hydrogen, which is most abundant element in the universe. With need to tap this rich resource to make us less dependent on fossil fuel. (See box story on how HPVs run)
Toyota Mirai is not yet commercially available in the UAE but there are three vehicles in the country that are being tested by Toyota for almost a year.
"Our idea is to this Mirai for a long period to ensure its safety like what we did when we introduced the hybrid Toyota Camry for the Roads and Transport Authority's Dubai Taxi. We first tested 10 hybrid cars nine years ago and now Dubai Taxi has a fleet of around 1,200 hybrid cars," Abbasi said.
Abbasi has personally behind the Mirai steering wheel and he said that it can travel for around 500 kilometres (approximately twice back and forth from Dubai to Abu Dhabi) on a full tank. He added that Mirai also has a strong torque so acceleration is brisk.
Abbasi also said that compared to other electric cars, an HPV or fuel-celled car takes only three to five minutes to get full tank, compared to an average of one hour for electric cars to be fully charged.
At present there is only one hydrogen refilling station in the UAE and the entire region and it was unveiled recently at Toyota's Al Badia showroom in Dubai Festival City. Abbasis said he is hopeing that this move will eventually usher in the UAE's transformation into a "hydrogen society" in terms of transportation and mobility
How hydrogen-powered vehicles (HPVs) run on hydrogen gas
1. Hydrogen is stored in a compressed state in high-pressure carbon-fibre reinforced fuel tanks, located either in the trunk or under the floor of the vehicle.
2. While the hydrogen gas is very flammable, it is not burned. Instead, the gas is passed through a fuel cell stack that mixes the pure hydrogen with atmospheric oxygen to generate electric current.
3. The electricity is then used to power one or more electric motors and the vehicle moves.
4. The only thing emitted out of the exhaust pipe is residual water vapor, said to be clean enough to drink (theoretically, of course).
HPVs available in select countries
As of 2016, there are 3 hydrogen cars publicly available in select markets: the Toyota Mirai, the Hyundai ix35 FCEV, and the Honda Clarity. Toyota launched its first production fuel cell vehicle, the Mirai, in Japan at the end of 2014 and began sales in California, mainly the Los Angeles area, in 2015.
Did you know?
NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) has used liquid hydrogen since the 1970s to propel the space shuttle and other rockets into orbit. Hydrogen fuel cells power the shuttle's electrical systems, producing a clean byproduct - pure water, which the crew drinks. A fuel cell combines hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity, heat, and water.