As part of its plans to introduce over 100 fuel cell buses mainly in the Tokyo area ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Toyota Motor Corp. says it will begin to sell fuel cell buses under the Toyota brand starting in early 2017.
Having already conducted repeated field tests for practical use, the Bureau of Transportation of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government says it will utilize two of these first fuel cell vehicles as fixed-route buses.
According to the company, Toyota intends to sell the vehicles in Japan in early 2017 in order to encourage the utilization of fuel cell buses as a form of public transportation.
Moreover, in preparation for the Tokyo Olympic games, the company will steadily increase the number of fuel cell buses being deployed. Toyota says it aims to engage continuously in the diligent development targeted at the introduction and expansion of the new fuel cell buses so as to contribute to the realization of a hydrogen-based society.
The automaker states that the Toyota FC Bus was based on the company’s experience in developing fuel cell buses together with Hino Motors Ltd. The Toyota Fuel Cell System, which was developed for the Mirai fuel cell vehicle, has been adopted to provide better energy efficiency in comparison with internal combustion engines and to deliver enhanced environmental performance, with no CO2 emissions or substances of concern while driving.
Toyota adds that the bus uses a high-capacity external power supply system. With a power supply capable of a 9 kW maximum output, and a large capacity of electricity supply at 235 kWh, the fuel cell bus can be used as a power source in the event of disasters, such as at evacuation sites, or its electricity supply can also be harnessed for home electric appliance use.
