The Toyota GR Corolla H2, newly burning liquid hydrogen, took to the start of the Super Taikyu Fuji 24h endurance race. Akio Toyoda, the former head of the car company, also sat behind the wheel.
Toyota is one of the most prominent promoters of the hydrogen future of the automotive industry, and until now it has mainly focused on fuel cell technology, which produces electricity from hydrogen to power traditional electric motors. In recent years, however, he has also been experimenting with the combustion of hydrogen in modified internal combustion engines.
Toyota is still experimenting with hydrogen
Many will probably remember the concept of the three-cylinder racing Toyota GR Yaris, with which the brand went into sharp races. The baton was then taken over by the Toyota GR Corolla, using a similar powertrain with which the brand continued to experiment. Most of the time, however, it used hydrogen in gaseous form.
But during the past weekend, the car company set out with its GR Corolla H2 concept for a twenty-four-hour endurance race Super Taikyu 24h, where it newly used hydrogen in liquid form to drive the car. At the same time, this change should be a big step in development, which will make the car more competitive.
Hydrogen and race: longer range, shorter refueling
Liquid hydrogen can be topped up simply in the spaces of ordinary pit-stop boxes, similar to how fuel is topped up in traditional internal combustion cars. In addition, the car company no longer has to produce compressed hydrogen gas, for which it needed compressors and cooling equipment. Nothing new is needed.
The space required to build a filling station has therefore also decreased – allegedly up to four times. Thanks to the absence of compressors and the need to create pressure, it is now possible to add fuel to several cars in a row more quickly.
Challenges and perspectives of liquid hydrogen
The fuel system of the GR Corolla H2 concept has been modified to run on liquid hydrogen instead of gaseous hydrogen, but the engine itself should be the same as the concepts burning hydrogen gas. In addition, the automaker boasted that the concept was 50 kilograms lighter, thanks to which it runs better times than the older concept burning gaseous hydrogen.
As the automaker adds, liquid hydrogen has a higher energy density, thanks to which the concept should be able to travel a longer distance per refueling, which still only takes about 1.5 minutes. However, the automaker believes that, thanks to further development, it will be able to increase performance and range, while refueling times could continue to shorten.
Disadvantages of hydrogen propulsion
In addition to the mentioned advantages, i.e. longer range, smaller filling stations and faster refueling of several cars in a row, the automaker also admits the disadvantages associated with liquid hydrogen. The biggest seems to be the temperature, which must be kept below -253 °C during storage and filling.
The low temperature thus places extremely high demands on the technology of the filling stations, which must operate under extreme conditions. However, stopping the evaporation of hydrogen from the tank in the car, which naturally heats up, is also a challenge. Toyota must also create new regulations for the creation of new hydrogen tanks.
The Super Taikyu 24h race will check everything
However, the automaker states in a press release that, in cooperation with its partners, it plans to continue overcoming these challenges associated with the production, transportation and use of hydrogen. Both liquid and gaseous hydrogen offer specific advantages and challenges, and the automaker wants to develop both concepts in the future.
Finally, let’s add that the car, which took part in the race under the flag of the ORC Rookie team and was driven by Akio Toyoda under the name of Morizo, finally finished in 47th place out of a total of 52 participants. The crew managed 358 laps, while the winner with the AMG GT3 drove 730 laps. But the order was not the issue for Toyota in this race. The further development of hydrogen technology is important.
2023-05-29 16:59:02
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