Toyota Mirai News

Toyota has signalled to the world combustion engines might actually be the future, with its debut its hydrogen combustion powered TR LH2 racecar on the track at the Le Man 24 Hours next week. Hydrogen-powered vehicles have generally meant using fuel cells immersed in the liquid gas to generate electricity for an EV.  The Toyota Mirai is an example of this.Toyota’s latest appearance at the famous Le Mans endurance race will showcase its latest development of hydrogen combustion. Yes, not electric, but loud and angry, and importantly, relatively clean combustion.Toyota’s TR LH2 Prototype won’t actually compete this year at Le Mans on June 13, but it will perform demonstration laps to let the world see and hear what it can do. The specifications of the TR LH2 have not been made public, but we know it has a hybrid set-up and uses the same chassis as Toyota’s actual entrant in the endurance race this year - the TR010 Hybrid Hypercar.Rather than combusting petrol to drive its wheels the TR LH2 ignites hydrogen, but still uses pistons and mechanical elements in the same way conventional engines do. There are some key differences. The hydrogen is stored as a liquid, the only problem is the fuel tanks need to be kept at -253C to keep it from turning into a gas. As with petrol, when the hydrogen is injected into the cylinder it’s ignited and explodes pushing the piston down, and in turn drives the wheels.Hydrogen combustion engines can be clean, with the only emissions being water and some carbon dioxide. It can also release toxic nitrogen oxide if the engine doesn’t reduce the emissions of these particles. Toyota is working on advanced hydrogen combustion engines that do reduce these emissions, and the TR LH2 is a work in progress of this technology.It’s not the first time Toyota has flexed its aptitude for hydrogen combustion in motorsport. In 2023 the car maker entered a GR Corolla H2 Concept powered by a liquid hydrogen combustion engine in the Japanese Super Taikyu racing series. And before that in 2022 Toyota entered a GR Yaris H2 in a demonstration run in a round of the FIA World Rally Championship at the Ypres Rally.The Le Mans 24 Hours race takes place from June 13-14, with the TR LH2 making its demonstration laps on June 11.  

The once highly-promising hydrogen-powered car technology now appears to be faltering as it lags behind other new energy technologies, according to reports. Nikkei Asia has reported annual sales of hydrogen vehicles decreased by more than 80 per cent since 2021, with the supporting infrastructure available also decreasing.Hydrogen vehicles more commonly take the form of fuel cell vehicles (FCV), using compressed hydrogen gas to power a fuel cell, which converts hydrogen into electricity to power it. This method means only water is emitted into the atmosphere, while offering similar refuelling times and driving range to internal combustion vehicles, but with EV performance.This technology is only found in a few vehicles, such as the Toyota Mirai sedan and the Hyundai Nexo SUV. Honda was one of the first brands to explore the potential of hydrogen technology more than 20 years ago, with its FCX sedan. Toyota has been heavily investing in hydrogen-powered cars, recently focussing on a different angle: hydrogen-fuelled internal combustion engines. This system repurposes compressed hydrogen as an injectable substance into the combustion chamber without emitting CO2.Charging times for electric vehicles remain a key point of discussion in their viability for mass usage, which makes this alternative hydrogen technology an interesting prospect.It now looks like the refuelling benefits over EVs are becoming more of a moot point with the scarcity of hydrogen refuelling points and their limited uptake. Australia does not have a hydrogen model on sale to the general public, with only some available on leasing deals, including the Mirai and Nexo. There are less than 20 hydrogen refuelling stations currently in Australia.According to Nikkei Asia, new FCV sales in Japan decreased by 83 per cent last year in comparison to 2021, with only 431 units finding new homes.These stuttering sales numbers are causing major players to retreat in their hydrogen plans, including Stallantis that discontinued development citing "no prospects of mid-term economic sustainability."Honda and General Motors have also severed ties on their hydrogen joint-venture, which has been running since 2013 and included production of the CR-V e:FCEV. This does not mean hydrogen is off the cards, with Toyota and Hyundai still proceeding with FCV projects over the next two years. Hyundai in particular intends to double down on the technology, with a new-generation Nexo having already launched in its South Korean home market.

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Australia’s favourite car brand has taken a shot at electric car-only brands such as Tesla and Polestar.Toyota Australia’s Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Franchise Operations intimated car makers that only sell EVs are in for a tough time.“I’m not sure I’d want to be a single EV-only manufacturer right now,” said Hanley.“People are now moving back to hybrid and particularly plug-in hybrid. Interesting.”Sales of hybrid cars such as the Toyota RAV4 and Hyundai Kona are up more than 113 per cent through the first six months of this year.Toyota announced last week it had delivered more than 100,000 hybrids in Australia the past financial year. The RAV4 led the charge with 38,632 sales for in the past 12 months, followed by the Corolla (20,375), Camry (16,872), Corolla Cross (7,876), Kluger (7,311) and Yaris Cross (6,077).Plug-in hybrids are in a similar purple patch with sales up by about 130 per cent this year.Electric cars sales have plateaued after a very strong 2023 with sales up 16.5 per cent this year. EV sales were up more than 160 per cent last year.Toyota has always maintained battery electric cars are just part of the future mix of vehicles and they are a long way from becoming the default choice of buyers.“Toyota's always been about the long term: we don't plan for five years, we plan for 20 to 30 years. And that's what you're seeing right now in play is that multi pathways strategy that we've been talking about for a long time,” said Hanley.Toyota just launched its first electric car - the bZ4X - in Australia earlier this year with mixed results. It has only sold 555 examples since February compared to Tesla shifting 23,116 examples of its Model Y and Model 3 in the same time.Hanley said the company wouldn't follow Tesla and slash the price of its EV.Despite their increasing popularity Toyota Australia still does not sell any plug-in hybrids locally despite offering plug-in hybrid versions of the Prius, C-HR and RAV4 overseas.Hanley promised a wide variety of vehicles were on the agenda for Toyota in Australia.“100 per cent you can expect hybrid electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, battery electric vehicles, fuel cell electric vehicles and I dare say some time in the future even synthetic fuel vehicles, hydrogen conversion vehicles of conventional ICE engines are also something we are considering,” he said.Toyota has long been a champion of hydrogen power and it currently has a fleet of Mirai Fuel Cell vehicles trialling in Australia.Hydrogen Fuel Cell vehicles convert hydrogen to electricity that is stored in a battery, which then powers an electric motor. The only tailpipe emissions is water.Hanley previously told CarsGuide hydrogen fuel cell vehicles won’t be popular for the next three to five years but will become more important in the future. Refuelling infrastructure is one of the biggest problems with only a handful of outlets nationwide.He did say Toyota Australia will sell a hydrogen fuel cell car in the next two years, but only in areas where there is the infrastructure to support it which, reading between the lines, means Canberra.

Toyota Motor Corporation Australia (TMCA) and Hyundai Motor Company Australia (HMCA) in partnership with fuel companies Ampol and Pacific Energy have announced a historic memorandum of understanding (MOU) to develop refuelling infrastructure in this country.

BMW has announced that a small fleet of hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) will be brought to Australia next year. Due in the first half of 2024, three iX5 Hydrogen prototypes will land in Melbourne for a six-month tour of the country, as part of BMW’s global test program that will also see them complete visits to regions running the entire spectrum of climate and geographic experiences.

Ampol has announced a partnership with US hydrogen company OneH2 in a move it says will allow it to offer industry in Australia a better opportunity to understand hydrogen technology and its applications in heavy transport and machinery.

Are hydrogen fuel cell-powered performance cars something we could see in the future? Toyota still doesn’t seem like it’s giving up on the FCEV dream, and its latest nudge at that space is a little spicy.