How Does Toyota Fuel Cell Work

A new era of zero-emission mobility fueled by hydrogen has arrived with the Mirai.

The Japanese word for Mirai is “future,” yet in order for our innovative Toyota Fuel Cell System technology to be a success, it must be appealing to and available to people now. Despite having a cutting-edge drivetrain and utilizing a novel fuel, the Mirai is a typical mid-size, four-door sedan that is just as useful, secure, and simple to operate as a conventionally powered family car.

On a full tank of hydrogen, it will travel as far as a comparable-sized gasoline vehicle, and filling up from empty takes between three and five minutes. The benefits include a quiet, comfortable ride, high performance, and only water vapor emissions from the exhaust.

A interaction between hydrogen and oxygen generates energy in the Toyota Fuel Cell System seen in the Mirai.

In the same way that you purchase gasoline or diesel at a filling station, you refuel with hydrogen fuel. The fuel is kept in high-pressure tanks and pumped into a fuel cell stack, where the air’s hydrogen and oxygen interact to produce electricity.

Similar to a gasoline-electric hybrid, the voltage of the electricity is increased to power the electric motor. Every time the car brakes or slows down, more energy is stored in a battery, which results in even improved fuel efficiency.

We are the first company in the world to provide a system with a power density of 3.1 kW per liter thanks to our decades of research and development in hybrid electric technology.