Toyota Mirai

FCV concept

The Mirai is based on the Toyota FCV (Fuel Cell Vehicle) concept car, which was unveiled at the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show. The unveiled FCV concept was a bright blue sedan shaped like a drop of water "to emphasize that water is the only substance that hydrogen-powered cars emit from their tailpipes." The FCV has a large grille and other openings to allow cooling air and oxygen intake for use by the fuel cell. According to Toyota, the FCV concept is close in appearance to the expected production version of the car. The FCV size is similar to the Toyota Camry. The FCV range is expected to be approximately 700 km (430 mi) under Japan's JC08 test cycle.

According to Toyota, the FCV features a fuel cell system with an output power density of 3.0 kW/L, which is twice as high as that of its previous fuel cell concept, the Toyota FCHV-adv, delivering an output power of more than 100 kW, despite significant unit downsizing. The FCV uses Toyota's proprietary, small, light-weight fuel cell stack and two 70 MPa high-pressure hydrogen tanks placed beneath the specially designed body. The Toyota FCV concept can accommodate up to four occupants. For the full-scale market launch in 2015, the cost of the fuel cell system is expected to be 95% lower than that of the 2008 Toyota FCHV-adv.

The FCV concept also uses portions of Toyota's Hybrid Synergy Drive technology including the electric motor, power control unit and other parts and components from its hybrid vehicles to improve reliability and minimize cost. The hybrid technology is also used to work together with the fuel cell. At low speeds such as city driving, the FCV runs just like any all-electric car by using the energy stored in its battery, which is charged through regenerative braking. At higher speeds, the hydrogen fuel cell alone powers the electric motor. When more power is needed, for example during sudden acceleration, the battery supports the fuel cell system as both work together to provide propulsion.

In June 2014 Toyota showcased an FCV with an exterior design close to production, and announced details about pricing in Japan and set a domestic market launch before April 2015 with initial sales limited to regions where hydrogen refueling infrastructure is being developed.

Timeline

Testing

Toyota began fuel cell development in Japan in the early 1990s and has developed a series of fuel cell vehicles, subjecting them to more than 1,600,000 km (1,000,000 miles) of road testing. Since 2012, fuel cell test vehicles have logged thousands of miles on North American roads. This includes hot testing in Death Valley, cold testing in Yellowknife, Canada, steep grade hill climbs in San Francisco and high altitude trips in Colorado. The Toyota-designed carbon fiber hydrogen tanks have also undergone extreme testing to ensure their strength and durability in a crash. Between September 2015 and February 2016, one Mirai was driven 100,000 km (62,000 miles) in 107 days on different roads in Hamburg, using just over one tonne of hydrogen.

Specifications

The Mirai uses the Toyota Fuel Cell System (TFCS), which features both fuel cell technology and hybrid technology, and includes proprietary Toyota-developed components including the fuel cell (FC) stack, FC boost converter, and high-pressure hydrogen tanks. The TFCS is more energy-efficient than internal combustion engines and emits no CO₂ at the point of operation or substances of concern (SOCs) when driven. The system accelerates Mirai from 0 to 97 km/h (0 to 60 mph) in 9.0 seconds and delivers a passing time of 3 seconds from 40 to 64 km/h (25 to 40 mph). The Mirai refueling takes between 3 and 5 minutes, and Toyota expected a total range of 480 km (300 miles) on a full tank. The Mirai has a button labeled  H₂O that opens a gate at the rear, dumping the water vapor that forms from the hydrogen-oxygen reaction in the fuel cell. The exhaust  H₂O or water volume is 240 mL per 4 km running.

Fuel economy and range

Under the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) cycle, the 2016 model year Mirai has a range of 502 km (312 mi) on a full tank, with a combined city/highway fuel economy rating of 66 mpg_‑US (3.6 L/100 km; 79 mpg_‑imp) equivalent (MPG-equivalent). The following table compares the Mirai with other FCVs available for leasing in California as of November 2016.

Fuel cell stack

The new Toyota FC Stack achieves a maximum output of 114 kW (153 hp). Electricity generation efficiency has been enhanced through the use of 3D fine mesh flow channels. These channels—a world first, according to Toyota—are arranged in a fine three-dimensional lattice structure and enhance the dispersion of air (oxygen), thereby enabling uniform generation of electricity on cell surfaces. This, in turn, provides a compact size and a high level of performance, including the stack’s world-leading power output density of 3.1 kW/L (2.2 times higher than that of the previous Toyota FCHV-adv limited-lease model), or 2.0 kW/kg. Each stack comprises 370 (single-line stacking) cells, with a cell thickness of 1.34 mm and weight of 102 g. The compact Mirai FC stack generates about 160 times more power than the residential fuel cells on sale in Japan. The Mirai has a new compact (13-liter), high-efficiency, high-capacity converter developed to boost voltage generated in the Toyota FC Stack to 650 volts.

High-pressure hydrogen tanks

The Mirai has two hydrogen tanks with a three-layer structure made of carbon fiber-reinforced plastic consisting of nylon 6 from Ube Industries and other materials. The tanks store hydrogen at 70 MPa (10,000 psi). The tanks have a combined weight 87.5 kg (193 lb). and 5 kg capacity.

Electric traction motor and battery

Toyota's latest generation hybrid components were used extensively in the fuel cell powertrain, including the electric motor, power control and main battery. The electric traction motor delivers 113 kilowatts (152 hp) and 335 N·m (247 lbf·ft) of torque. The Mirai has a 245V (1.6 kWh) sealed nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) traction rechargeable battery pack, similar to the one used in the Toyota Camry hybrid.

Safety

At Toyota’s Higashi-Fuji Technical Center, the Mirai has been subjected to extensive crash testing to evaluate a design specifically intended to address frontal, side and rear impacts and to provide excellent protection of vehicle occupants. A high level of collision safety has also been achieved to help protect the fuel cell stack and high-pressure tanks against body deformation. The high pressure hydrogen tanks have excellent hydrogen permeation prevention performance, strength, and durability. Hydrogen sensors provide warnings and can shut off tank main stop valves. The hydrogen tanks and other hydrogen-related parts are located outside the cabin to ensure that if hydrogen leaks, it will dissipate easily. The vehicle structure is enhanced with carbon-fiber-reinforced polymers from Toray and designed to disperse and absorb impact energy across multiple parts to ensure a high-impact safety performance that protects the Toyota FC Stack and high-pressure hydrogen tanks during frontal, side or rear impacts.

Infrastructure

As of January 2013, Japan had ten demonstration hydrogen fueling stations. Toyota operated three of these stations. To support commercialization of hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles by Toyota and other manufacturers, the Japanese government announced a goal to build approximately 100 hydrogen fueling stations by March 2016 in Japanese cities where the vehicles were to be launched initially. By May 2016, there were approximately 80 hydrogen fueling stations in Japan. California had ten hydrogen fueling stations in 2015, and the government provided about $47 million for 28 additional stations there.

Production

Production of the fuel cell parts began in the Toyota Boshoku factory in November 2014.

Markets and sales

In January 2015 it was announced that production of the Mirai fuel cell vehicle would increase from 700 units in 2015 to approximately 2,000 in 2016 and 3,000 in 2017. As of 15 February 2017, sales totaled 2,840 Mirais in Japan, the United States, Europe and United Arab Emirates. The top selling markets are Japan with 1,500 units and the U.S. with 1,200.

Japan

Sales in Japan began on December 15, 2014. Pricing starts at ¥6,700,000 (~US$57,400) before taxes and a government incentive of ¥2,000,000 (~US$19,600). Initially sales are limited to government and corporate customers. As of December 2014, domestic orders had already reached over 400 Mirais, surpassing Japan's first-year sales target, and as a result, there is a waiting list of more than a year. The dimensions of the Mirai place it in a higher tax bracket outlined in the Japanese Governments dimension regulations, and the weight of the vehicle is also taxed annually during the annual road tax obligation.

The Japanese government also provides a subsidy of 50% of the installation costs, with ¥7,200,000,000 (~US$61.7 million) allocated for fiscal year 2014. A hydrogen station in Japan costs ¥280,000,000 (~US$2.4 million) which is about ¥150,000,000 (~US$1.29 million) more than in Europe which allows more generic materials.

Toyota delivered the first market placed Mirai to the Prime Minister's Official Residence and announced it got 1,500 orders in Japan in one month after sales began on December 15, 2014 against a sales target of 400 for 12 months. By mid-February 2017 about 1,500 Mirais have been sold in Japan.

United States

The first 57 units were delivered to retail customers in California in October and November 2015. Toyota hoped to release the Mirai in the five Northeastern States in the first half of 2016 as hydrogen fueling infrastructure is built in the Boston and New York City regions. Toyota will provide free hydrogen fueling for the first three years to initial buyers of the Mirai, just as Hyundai does for lessees of its Hyundai Tucson-ix35 Fuel Cell in California. Toyota planned for cumulative sales of 3,000 Mirais in the U.S. by the end of 2017, but by May 2016, only 210 Mirais had been sold in the US.

In the American market the 2016 model year Toyota Mirai started at US$57,500 before any government incentives, and a leasing option for 36 months is available with a $3,649 down payment and a lease rate of $499 per month. Several states have established incentives and tax exemptions for fuel cell vehicles. As a zero-emission vehicle (ZEV), the Mirai is eligible for a purchase rebate in California of US$5,000 through the Clean Vehicle Rebate Project. The federal tax credit for fuel cell vehicles originally expired on 31 December 2014, but was retroactively extended through 31 December 2016. By September 2016, Toyota had reduced down-payment from $3,649 to $2,499 and leasing price to $349/month with several benefits, and sold 710 Mirais. By mid-February 2017 about 1,200 Mirais have been sold in the U.S.

Europe

The market launch in Europe was slated for September 2015. The UK, Germany and Denmark were the first European countries where the Mirai was released, to be followed by additional markets in 2017. In Germany, pricing starts at 60,000 € (~US$75,140) plus VAT. As of June 2016, the Mirai is available for retail sales in the UK, Denmark, Germany, Belgium, and Norway. A total of 140 Mirais have been sold in Europe by mid-February 2017.

Former European Parliament President Pat Cox estimated that Toyota would initially lose between 50,000 € to 100,000 € (US$60,000 to US$133,000 at 2014 exchange rates) on each Mirai sold in 2015.

Recognition

The Toyota Mirai won the 2016 World Green Car of the Year Award, announced at the 2016 New York International Auto Show.

Marketing

In 2015, Toyota released a series of video commercials for the Mirai entitled Fueled By..., showing how hydrogen to power fuel cells like the ones that Mirais use could come from various unexpected sources. The last one, entitled Fueled by the Future, featured Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd and YouTube science personality Go Tech Yourself, doubled as a tribute to the Back to the Future franchise and illustrated how the idea of converting trash into fuel (which had been introduced with the "Mr. Fusion" reactor that Dr. Emmett Brown (Lloyd) had brought back from the future at the end of the first film) had become reality. The commercial was released on October 21 - the same date in 2015 that Marty McFly (Fox), Jennifer Parker (Claudia Wells/Elizabeth Shue) and Brown traveled to in Back to the Future Part II.

Recalls

On 15 February 2017 Toyota recalled all of the roughly 2,800 zero-emission Mirai cars on the road due to problems with the output voltage generated by their fuel cell system. According to Toyota, under unique driving conditions, such as if the accelerator pedal is depressed to the wide open throttle position after driving on a long descent while using cruise control, there was a possibility the output voltage generated by the fuel cell boost converter could exceed the maximum voltage. Toyota dealers will update the fuel cell system software at no cost to the customer, it said. The process will take about half an hour, it said.