Toyota Motor Corporation, a leading automotive manufacturer, has unveiled Mirai, its new hydrogen fuel cell vehicle (FCV).

The Mirai was introduced to the world at an event in Japan, in December. The car will be available for sale in Europe and US in late 2015, said a statement

The new vehicle will use hydrogen as fuel to generate electricity. The Mirai achieves superior environmental performance with the convenience and driving pleasure expected of any car, it added.

The Toyota Mirai is a four-door, mid-size sedan with performance that fully competes with traditional internal combustion engines – but it uses no gasoline and emits nothing but water vapour.

The innovative fuel cell electric vehicle re-fuels in about five minutes, and travels up to 300 miles on a full tank, it added

The Mirai uses the Toyota Fuel Cell System (TFCS), which features both fuel cell technology and hybrid technology, and includes Toyota’s new proprietary FC Stack and high-pressure hydrogen tanks.

The Mirai is built to deliver everything expected of a next-generation car: an immediately recognisable design; superior handling stability achieved by a low centre of gravity; and quiet but powerful acceleration provided by the electric motor, stated the company.

The required hydrogen can be generated using a wide range of natural resources and man-made by products such as sewage sludge. It can also be created from water using natural renewable energy sources like solar and wind power.

On compression it has a higher energy density than batteries, and is relatively easy to store and transport, therefore it also carries expectations for potential future use in power generation and a wide range of other applications.

The FCVs generates its own electricity from hydrogen, meaning they can help make a future hydrogen-based society a reality, and are therefore expected to further contribute to accelerating energy diversification, it added. – TradeArabia News Service