Toyota Has Reduced Fuel Cell Costs by Nearly $1 Million

ToyotaToyotaJapan, 1937 > present155 models
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says that it has found ways to reduce the cost of the hydrogen fuel cell in its 2015 hydrogen-fueled sedan by $950,000 each. It puts the car on track to cost less than $100,000 when it goes on sale in Japan, the United States and Europe. Toyota intends to reveal the fuel cell sedan at the Tokyo Motor Show in November.

The fuel cell alone in each of the sedans will account for $51,000 of the cost, according to Toyota. However, this is compared to the $1 million fuel cell in the prototypesToyota FCV-RJapan, 2012 > present2 photos
.

The breakthrough was reducing the amount platinum in each fuel cell from 100g to 30g due to better coating technology. Platinum is currently trading at $1,375.60 per ounce ($44.23 per gram).

Further cost cutting is coming from using less carbon fiber in the tanks and using mass-produced parts that already exists for some fuctions.

"We aim to sell tens of thousands of fuel cell vehicles a year by sometime in the 2020s," said Toyota Managing Officer Satoshi Ogiso.

Ogiso says that the goal is to eventually reduce the amount of platinum in each fuel cell to 20g of platinum, which is about as much in a modern catalytic converter.

Fuel cells offer the chance of being a true alternative to fossil fuels because of their long range and low emissions. The hurdle has been high cost and a lack of refueling infrastructure.

Source: Automotive News Europe