Toyota Introducing $50k Fuel Cell Car in 2015

toyota-hfc
Last year, Toyota re-committed to producing a hydrogen fuel cell car by 2015 and it looks like they're keeping their promise, and making it cheaper. The automaker says it has slashed the cost of producing a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle by 90 percent, allowing them to introduce a fuel cell sedan in 2015 with a price tag of $50,000.

Toyota says that they hope to cut the cost by an additional 50 percent in the next few years so that they can produce this so-called affordable mid-sized fuel cell car that would offer the same range as a conventional car. They've cut costs by using one-third the platinum traditionally used in fuel cells (10 grams instead of 30 grams) and by reducing the cost of a polymer electrolyte in the cell. The additional savings will come from scaling up production.

If you think $50,000 is still a lot of money, I agree with you, but it's far less than the exorbitant prices that fuel cell cars have been projected to cost (think up to seven figures). If the costs keep coming down and if fueling stations start popping up, hydrogen vehicles could finally have a chance at making it.

via Wired

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A fuel cell car is one battery pack away from being an electric car
written by Ronald Brak, May 08, 2010

If I owned a company that made fuel efficient hybrid cars that were in demand for their green credentials, but my competitors were about to introduce even greener electric cars, I would pooh-pooh the whole idea of electric cars while frantically developing an electric car of my own. Of course I wouldn't tell people that I was building an electric car, I would tell people that we were developing a fuel cell car, but until it was ready I would keep bad mouthing electric cars in the hope that environmentally minded people would keep buying my hybrids. Then, once my "fuel cell" car was ready, I would put a battery pack in it instead of a fuel cell and sell it as an all electric car and maybe sell a few with fuel cells to hyrdogen enthusiasts.

...
written by Doc Rings, May 09, 2010

And what of the recent breakthrough that creates a fuel cell with ZERO platinum or precious metals for the catalyst? That would be a big boost to the fuel-cell car industry.

@Ronald
written by Mangostein, May 09, 2010

That is why you are not the owner of a car company

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written by Dave K., May 10, 2010

If it really happens that's 1 of the 5 miricles necessary, Google 5 hydrogen miricles if you don't know what I mean. I'm still betting on EVs and PHEVs.
That said I'm glad there is competition, may the best car win! P.S. I reserved a Leaf.

H2 is still a waste
written by Mark, May 15, 2010

Look even if we could produce H2 cars for nothing, and even if we could produce H2 for nothing, it still would not be viable.

The energy required to compress H2 at source, then decompress it and transport it by truck, then compress it and decompress it again when you put it in the car where it is converted to electrical energy is wasteful when compared to a standard Electric car. It makes much more sense to have a small generator on EVs for the first generation and by the second generation the batteries will be capable of 500 miles per charge, rendering the generator unnecessary.

think big not small
written by TOYTRUCK, August 27, 2010

lets think about this children.a electric car with small generator recharge the batteries that runs on whiskey a green machine yes!!!!

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