(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) 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 the3rd International Conference on Future Mobility (ICFM) in Dubaion Tuesday. The car called Mirai (which means 'The Future' in Japanese) is manufactured by Japanese carmaker Toyota.
Speaking toKhaleej Timeson 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.
HPVs vs traditional cars > Like hybrid cars, a hydrogen-powered vehicle also utilizes a battery pack but only to boost acceleration and not for primary propulsion, so the battery pack can be much smaller. The battery pack is charged through regenerative braking and with excess energy created by the hydrogen fuel cell.
> HPVs create little or no noise other than that of the rushing wind and the road passing beneath the tires
> Power from the electric motors is strong, and electric motors make full torque at zero RPM, so acceleration is brisk. |
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 itcan 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, anHPV 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
| What is hydrogen? Hydrogen isa colorless, odorless, tasteless and highly flammable gas. It is easily the most abundant element in the universe, found in the sun and most of the stars (Jupiter is composed mostly ofhydrogen). On Earth,hydrogenis found in the greatest quantities as water. But pure hydrogen gas is scarce in Earth's atmosphere and any hydrogen that actually enters the atmosphere rapidly escapes Earth's gravity. Hydrogen has to be produced from other compounds. |
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: theToyotaMirai, theHyundai ix35 FCEV, and theHonda Clarity.Toyotalaunched 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 liquidhydrogensince the 1970s to propel the space shuttle and other rockets into orbit.Hydrogen fuelcells power the shuttle's electrical systems, producing a clean byproduct - pure water, which the crew drinks. Afuelcell combineshydrogenand oxygen to produce electricity, heat, and water.
(sources:ucsusa.org, Toyota,www.jdpower.com,livescience.com)
Angel Tesorero
MENAFN0711201700490000ID1096053413
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