Toyota Mirai Fuel-Cell Car 5 Minutes for the 300 Miles

Toyota Mirai Fuel-Cell Car 5 Minutes for the 300 Miles

It sounds quite saccharine, the unbridled self-confidence with which Toyota directors mention alternative fuels also the future. Take, as an example, the closing statements of President and CEO Akio Toyoda’s announcement at a press event in Newport Beach, Calif., on the way up to the Los Angeles Auto Show, in which he stated the name of the company’s new hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle, the Mirai.

Toyota Motor Corp. (7203) said it’s chosen the name “Mirai,” meaning “future” in Japanese, for a fuel-cell powered sedan that will travels 300 miles (483 kilometers) with a hydrogen tank that can be refilled in under five minutes. The vehicle is expected to retail for the equal of around $60,000 as it goes on sale in Japan, in which it will qualify for a $20,000 government rebate. It is likely to retail for the same amount in the U.S.

Toyota has become the most vocal proponent of hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles as the appropriate zero-emission solution for future transport. The automobiles emit only just water vapor when oxygen from the air is mixed with hydrogen fuel to make electrical energy in the fuel cell.

To help publicize fuel-cell sales, California wants to install more than 50 hydrogen fuel stations within two years, in part with financial support from Toyota as well as other automakers. Toyota may also do its stuff with Paris-based Air Liquide SA to build 12 fueling stations in five northeastern U.S. states, the corporate explained in its report.