March 17 2022: Japanese  car maker  Toyota has unveiled its hydrogen fuel-cell based passenger car, Mirai, in India this week ( see report here). 
We bring you some details of the technology from the manufacturer:
The name Mirai means “future” in Japanese, but to make our new Toyota Fuel Cell System technology successful we know it has to be accessible and attractive to people today. Although Mirai has an extremely advanced powertrain and uses a new type of fuel, the Mirai is a regular mid-size, four-door sedan that is every bit as practical, safe and easy to drive as a conventionally powered family car.It will go as far as a similar size petrol car on a full tank of hydrogen and refuelling from empty takes between three and five minutes. The rewards are a quiet, smooth drive, strong performance and no tailpipe emissions other than water vapour.
HOW IT WORKS: The Toyota Fuel Cell System used in Mirai produces electricity from a reaction between hydrogen and oxygen.
You fill up with hydrogen fuel, in the same way as you buy gasoline or diesel at a filling station. The fuel is contained in high-pressure tanks and fed into a fuel cell stack, where the hydrogen and the oxygen found naturally in the air react with each other and generate electricity.As in a petrol-electric hybrid, the electricity is boosted in voltage to drive the electric motor. Further energy is captured in a battery every time the car brakes or slows down, which contributes to even better fuel economy.
Hydrogen is not a new source of energy. It has been widely used for more than a century, and is now recognised as a viable power source for vehicles with the potential to eliminate carbon emissions and reduce dependence on the world’s shrinking supplies of oil-based fuels.. In fact it is the most common atom in the universe. However, it is always found tied to other elements, such with oxygen in water (H2O). That means we have to find ways of isolating it in order to produce pure H2 hydrogen fuel. There are plentiful natural resources we can use to do this, including making use of renewable energy such as wind and solar power.
Hydrogen is a clean, efficient means of producing electricity that is not vulnerable to fluctuations in supply. As well as creating no CO2 emissions when used, hydrogen fuel also has a higher energy density than electric batteries and is easy to transport and store. It can be used not only for powering vehicles – not just private cars but buses, taxis, forklift trucks and others – but homes as well.
For more details read Toyota’s product information:
Toyota Mirai FCV_Posters_LR_tcm-11-564265.pdf
The Toyota Mirai, our fuel cell vehicle (toyota-europe.com)