Toyota Plans to Sell Hydrogen Powered Cars in the Future

How Fuel Cells Work +VIDEO
Toyota Unveils Pioneering Full Hybrids at 2012 Geneva Motor Show +VIDEO
Alt Fuel News Daily

By Kaushik Madhavan
Global Program Manager - Powertrain
Frost & Sullivan

Today's announcement from Toyota regarding the plan to focus on hydrogen-powered cars in the future will definitely make other OEMs sit up and take notice. Fuel Cell programmes have been underway with many OEMs such as Daimler and Honda in the recent past, but the key difference in the announcement made today is the sheer volumes Toyota commands globally. Toyota has always delivered what they promised, of which Prius is proof, and there is no reason to doubt Toyota's commitment towards the production of their first fuel cell vehicle as planned in 2015.

However, the real challenge going forward will be the infrastructure for re-filling hydrogen commercially. Europe and North America will be the primary markets for Toyota when they start selling the fuel cell models and it becomes even more important to establish infrastructure because OEMs in the past [BMW] have had to shelve their grand plans simply because of lack of infrastructure.

It would make good business sense to initiate alliances with potential partners to develop hydrogen filling station infrastructure in the next 2 years. Hydrogen storage, both in the vehicle and in re-filling stations requires complex systems and the associated costs can be shared by partners based on varied business models, very similar to what Electric Vehicle OEMs are offering / developing now. The cost of manufacturing fuel cells has to be brought down for this technology to become economically attractive.

Finally, it is the combination of both availability of models and hydrogen re-filling stations that will determine the future of Toyota's plans. Toyota will need to look at developing the latter sooner than later.

About Frost & Sullivan
Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, enables clients to accelerate growth and achieve best-in-class positions in growth, innovation and leadership. The company's Growth Partnership Service provides the CEO and the CEO's Growth Team with disciplined research and best-practice models to drive the generation, evaluation, and implementation of powerful growth strategies. Frost & Sullivan leverages 50 years of experience in partnering with Global 1000 companies, emerging businesses and the investment community from more than 40 offices on six continents. To join our Growth Partnership, please visit http://www.frost.com.