Global Vehicles

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October 2003

Preparing for the hydrogen age

Fuel-cell vehicle (FCV) developments and demonstrations are springing up all over Japan. Toyota and Honda have supplied a fleet of fuel-cell vehicles to Japanese government agencies including the office of Prime Minister. Honda has begun leasing FCVs to selected private customers who have access to a gaseous hydrogen supply. The first customer, Iwatani Sangyo, is a supplier of hydrogen-filling equipment. The General Motors/Fedex partnership has a Hydro-Gen 3 car delivering parcels and packages in Tokyo. A number of Japanese OEMs—including the heavy commercial vehicle specialist Hino and small-car manufacturer Daihatsu, both of the Toyota group, and Nissan—are public road testing their fuel-cell vehicles. DaimlerChrysler is participating with a Necar 3. In addition, Toyota is developing a cogeneration system for home use based on the automotive proton-exchange membrane (PEM) fuel-cell stack. Hydrogen is generated in the system from city (natural) gas.
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