Toyota Motor Sales Inc. and its captive Toyota Motor Credit Corp are working with a group of partners to help develop and put in place hydrogen refueling stations across California, a move intended to increase the appeal of the company’s new hydrogen fuel cell sedan.
Hydrogen is a naturally occurring gas that can also be produced using several energy sources including solar and wind power. When compressed, it has a higher energy density than batteries and is easier to store and transport.
The fuel cell sedan Toyota revealed yesterday for the Japanese market, for example, features performance similar to a gasoline engine vehicle and a cruising range of approximately 700 km, according to Toyota measurements taken following guidelines set by the Japanese government. Refueling hydrogen vehicles takes roughly three minutes.
When driven, hydrogen cars emit only the water vapor produced by the reaction between hydrogen and oxygen.
Pricing in Japan, where it’s set to go on sale at Toyota and Toyopet dealerships in April 2015, is around 7 million yen ($69,000.) Sales of the car will be limited to regions in Japan where hydrogen refueling infrastructure is being developed as well.
U.S. and European prices for the car have not yet been decided. Toyota says it will reveal more details, such as specifications, price, and sales targets later.
Nonetheless, as a Toyota Motor Credit spokesman told Auto Finance News, one of the big psychological drawbacks for consumers who might be considering the green technology has been the dearth of a working hydrogen refueling network.
TMS and its captive Toyota Motor Credit Corporation said last month they had entered into a financial agreement with FirstElement Fuel Inc. to support the long-term operation and maintenance expenses of new hydrogen refueling stations in California.
The actual amount of financial assistance is based on an analysis of a grant awarded to FirstElement by the California Energy Commission’s Notice of Proposed Awards, or NOPA, announced on May 1.
Newport Beach, Calif.-based FirstElement Fuel reportedly received $27.6 million for 19 hydrogen fueling outlets, two of them to be based wholly on renewables, according to earlier press reports.
Last December, The California Energy Commission announced that it was seeking proposals to spend $200 million starting in 2015 to build out fueling stations and other infrastructure to support hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles of the NOPA.
That follows a plan from Gov. Jerry Brown to construct 100 hydrogen-fueling stations across the state by 2024. A typical hydrogen fueling station costs about $2.5 million.
Toyota’s agreement with FirstElement says the two will work to develop an integrated and reliable network of fueling stations across California in target market locations approved by Toyota, and consistent with the California Fuel Cell Partnership Road Map.
As the Toyota spokesman notes, there’s currently no infrastructure, which is why it makes good sense to partner with FirstElement regarding the financing of the fueling stations, which in turn, makes the appeal of Toyota’s new product stronger.
“And, when the vehicle does come to market, we’ll of course finance them,” he said.