While many brands are diving headlong into electric cars, Toyota has decided to take a different path. The Japanese company has presented a new combustion engine that does not use gasoline or electricity, but hydrogen, and wants to present it as the future of the automotive industry. This system promises to maintain the excitement of traditional engines without generating polluting emissions.
For now, the news has caused a stir, as Toyota is reluctant to abandon combustion engines, betting on an alternative that combines performance, autonomy and sustainability. But is it really the future of the automobile or is it just another attempt to resist changing engines?
What is an internal combustion vehicle (ICE)?
An internal combustion vehicle is one that uses an engine that burns fuel (such as gasoline, diesel, or hydrogen) to generate power and move the car. Basically, the engine converts the chemical energy of the fuel into mechanical energy through controlled explosions inside the cylinders.
These engines have been the most widely used since cars were invented, but they are now at the centre of debate due to their environmental impact, as they generate CO₂ emissions and pollutants.
How does Toyota’s hydrogen engine work?
Unlike traditional engines, this new engine burns hydrogen and only emits water vapour. This means that it maintains the advantages of an internal combustion engine, including the sound and driving sensation for the more nostalgic, but without the negative environmental impact, as water does not pollute
Give me the facts
Toyota has managed to get its hydrogen engine to reach a power of up to 400 horsepower, which puts it on par with Atkinson cycle engines (used in the brand’s most efficient hybrids). They have tested implementing it in the Mirai sedan, which shows that hydrogen is viable in the real world!! In addition, it chose the perfect occasion to show it to the world: the 2024 Paris Olympics, where it also provided 500 of them for the event.
Why is hydrogen better than electric vehicles?
First, recharging them does not require the user to wait hours between journeys, which is already a plus point. Yes, hydrogen tanks take the same time to fill up as if we were refilling them with petrol, in a couple of minutes the car will be ready to go, and, however, the batteries of electric cars can take up to three or four hours to charge. It is clearly a plus for those of us who are more impatient.
On the other hand, Toyota also highlights that hydrogen engines are safer than electric cars, since hydrogen does not heat up or ignite as easily as lithium batteries (how many mobile phones and vehicles have we already seen burn due to their batteries?)
Another advantage that can be highlighted is that these engines are mechanical and their maintenance can be carried out in any workshop, unlike electric motors that need specialized equipment.
Are any challenge?
Of course, in the world of motors nothing is ever a bed of roses. The biggest challenge that Toyota faces is the lack of hydrogen stations, and although the technology is very functional and useful, access to hydrogen is very complicated at the moment in many places.
But this is not bad news, because the market for hydrogen refuelling stations is growing. It is expected to go from $0.5 billion in 2024 to $1.8 billion in 2030, with companies such as Air Liquide and Linde PLC leading the expansion.
Toyota may not be the world leader, but it is betting heavily on leading this sector of the market, while other brands such as Mercedes, Jaguar and even Lexus (Toyota’s premium brand) are planning to go completely electric by 2035.
Given the current situation, Toyota is taking a leap into the dark, but who knows if they are right in not betting everything on electricity? Time will tell!
