Toyota has become a partner with the German government supported Clean Energy Partnership (CEP) to add further impetus to CEP's programme of development of hydrogen filling stations and a fuel supply network in Germany. CEP is investing around €2 billion to support the development of hydrogen fuel cell and electric vehicle technologies.

Toyota will contribute five of its zero-emissions FCHV-adv hydrogen fuel cell vehicles to the programme in Germany by 2011.

Toyota believes that fuel cell hybrid vehicles will play a major role in reducing emissions and achieving sustainable mobility, alongside petrol and plug-in hybrids and pure electric vehicles. These various applications of full hybrid technology will each play their role and co-exist in the future.

Toyota aims to have fuel cell vehicles on sale by 2015. To achieve this goal, a hydrogen-charging infrastructure is necessary, so close tie-ups between car manufacturers and infrastructure companies are of vital importance.

Other CEP partners are setting up ‘CO2-free' and hydrogen filling stations at key locations between Berlin and Hamburg. The partnership is also campaigning to increase the proportion of hydrogen fuel produced from renewable sources to 50 per cent.

Toyota also showed its latest developments in EV (electric vehicle), plug-in hybrid vehicles and battery design and hydrogen fuel cell hybrid technologies at the recent Geneva Motor Show. These included its FT-EVII concept, the precursor of a production small commuter EV model that Toyota plans to market in the USA in 2012.

Toyota reported that the first 600 Prius Plug-in-Hybrids are already on the road in a worldwide leasing project, including around 200 in Europe. Toyota will analyse the way the cars, charging patterns and user feedback with a view to verifying the car's overall environmental and technological performance before it is put on general sale.

Toyota is also advancing battery technology, through its own research department established in 2008, and a jointly funded partnership with Panasonic EV Energy (PEVE), which will see three facilities in Japan manufacturing more than one million battery packs a year by September.

Comments (1) »

I wonder why ???
written by jacknickles68, April 29, 2010

I am wondering if the other car's companies are interested in supporting such kind of researchs ??
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