Toyota announces hydrogen-powered bus

With almost every car manufacturer looking at finding ways of reducing air pollution, some car makers have found ways by introducing electric vehicles instead of the widely known combustion engine, but it’s a whole different scenario with Toyota.

News from the Japanese automaker suggest that Toyota is preparing to introduce an ecofriendly city bus powered by a hydrogen fuel cell.

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Powered by the evolution of the drivetrain that powers the futuristic Mirai hatchback, the bus is simply known as the FC Bus. Its power is provided by a pair of electric motors that each generate 115 kW and 338Nm of torque.

The bus is completely silent, it’s wireless, and it emits water vapour instead of harmful pollutants.

The FC Bus carries no less than 10 tanks that store enough hydrogen to give it a total driving range of 200km. That’s not much, but filling the tanks takes approximately 10 minutes.

The 77-passenger FC Bus promises to make big cities like Tokyo quieter and cleaner, but that’s not all. With a small amount of wiring work the on-board 235-kWh, nickel-metal hydride battery pack can be used as an external power supply in the event of a disaster like a tsunami or an earthquake. Japan is often confronted with these events, so a fleet of hydrogen-powered buses can help save lives.

Toyota’s hydrogen fuel cell technology isn’t cheap, according to newspaper The Asahi Shimbun. Pricing is expected to start at about 100 million yen, a sum that represents nearly $1 million. In comparison, a traditional diesel-powered bus is four or five times cheaper depending on the model. Executives nonetheless believe they can sell at least 100 buses by 2020, when the city of Tokyo will host the Summer Olympics.

Toyota firmly believes hydrogen is the fuel of the future.

The company is deep in the development of a hydrogen-powered forklift, and it’s also in the process of designing stationary fuel cells for use in homes and business.