Toyota's Portable Hydrogen Cartridges Suggest A Brighter Future For FCEVs

FCEVs, or Fuel-Cell Electric Vehicles, offer a much cleaner alternative to fossil fuel-based vehicles. Unlike EVs, FCEVs are supposed to be a lot easier to use. You can fill up its hydrogen tanks at a filling station, as you would in a petrol or diesel vehicle, and be on your way in a few minutes. However, in reality, owners of hydrogen cars face a much bigger ordeal than electric vehicle owners. In the US, where Toyota sells the Mirai, its hydrogen-powered car, owners complain about the lack of working hydrogen filling stations and the ever-increasing hydrogen prices.Also Read: Toyota has now come up with a solution. At the Japan Mobility Show 2024, it unveiled portable hydrogen cartridges. These small tanks are the size of a backpack. The idea is that instead of filling up your FCEV with hydrogen at a filling station, you can just swap out the empty tank with a filled one, which is what we see in the battery swapping technology seen on electric vehicles. Thanks to the small size of these tanks, they can also be easily transported. So, you can just order the required amount of these hydrogen cartridges directly to your home.

Toyota says its new innovation has multiple applications. It can be used as a source of energy for powering homes and camps or as a combustible fuel wherever needed. Mass application of these cartridges is still a while away. Toyota says it is working with various start-ups and other partners to develop this new technology further. In other words, it is still some time before we see a Toyota or any FCEV using these hydrogen cartridges.