India’s first hydrogen-powered Toyota Mirai sedan gets registered in Kerala. The car is part of MoU signed between iCAT (International Centre for Automotive Technology) and Toyota to study and evaluate Toyota Mirai fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV).
The Toyota Mirai registered in Kerala was finished in a very attractive Red exterior colour and the model was registered at the Regional Transport Office in Trivandrum. Since Toyota Mirai is a fuel cell electric vehicle, the vehicle wore a green number plate instead of the regular white number plate.
Though the Toyota Mirai costs more than Rs 1 crore, the car has been excepted from paying any taxes as the car will be used for research purposes. Speaking about the pilot project, it is a great initiative by the Government of India considering our dependency on fossil fuels.
The pilot project conducted by the iCAT (International Centre for Automotive Technology) will use the second-generation Toyota Mirai fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) and the pilot project was recently inaugurated by Mr Nitin Gadkari (Minister of Road, Transport and Highways).
Unlike battery-powered cars like Tesla, fuel cell electric vehicles can be refuelled just like conventional vehicles by filling up hydrogen into the tank instead of fossil fuels like petrol or diesel.
Moreover, the FCEV (Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles) generate their own electricity and considering that almost 51 per cent of electricity produced in India is through coal, fuel cell electric vehicles are far more eco-friendly than conventional electric vehicles.
Since fuel cell vehicles are lighter and can be refilled in minutes, they are a more viable option for powering long-distance vehicles such as trucks and busses as today’s battery-powered electric vehicles take at least an hour to charge fully despite using very powerful chargers.
Another advantage of hydrogen as fuel lies in its production method as it can be produced using renewable energy sources, making it far more sustainable than any other viable fuel source.
Speaking about Toyota Mirai FCEV, the first concept car was unveiled back in 2011 at the Tokyo Motor Show as the Toyota FCV-R. The first-generation Toyota Mirai FCEV was produced from 2014 to 2020.
This model was powered by a 152bhp electric motor with 335Nm of torque. Moreover, It had two hydrogen tanks with a total capacity of 122-litres.
This setup along with the 1.6kWh battery pack gave the first gen Toyota Mirai a range of 502kms under the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) cycle. Also, the model produced water at a rate of 240ml per every 4kms.
The current generation Toyota Mirai is a rear-wheel drive car and it is powered by a more powerful 182bhp electric motor with 300Nm of torque. Moreover, the FCEV now sports 3 hydrogen tanks for a combined 141-litres of hydrogen storage.
This setup enables the Toyota Mirai to cover a total of 647kms under the EPA cycle. Also, the second-generation Toyota Mirai scored a 5-Star safety rating at the Euro-NCAP crash test.
Thoughts About Toyota Mirai & Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles
Thanks to research programs such as these, the pilot program could accelerate the future possibilities for FCEVs in India. Moreover, FCEVs are a lot more sustainable mode of transportation considering the source of power can also be made sustainable.
Keyword: First Hydrogen Powered Toyota Mirai Gets Registered In Kerala