Toyota’s flagship hydrogen fuel cell car, the second-generation Toyota Mirai, has increased the world record distance for FCVs to over 1,000 km on a single fill.
The expedition started on Wednesday, May 26 at 5:43 am from the HYSETCO hydrogen station in Orly, with the fuel filler flap sealed with tape and wax. The car halted post driving 1,003 km (623 miles) on one single fill. As indicated by on-board information system, it still had a range to the effect of 9 km left.
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No CO2 emissions were released into the atmosphere, from production to use and the hydrogen aiding this record was green in its entirety. The 1,003 zero-emission kilometres were driven on public roads, south of Paris and in the Loir-et-Cher and Indre-et-Loire areas before ending in Paris near the Eiffel Tower.
During the event, the Eiffel Tower was illuminated for the first time by green hydrogen to mark the day and moment of the new record being set.
The metrics of distance & consumption were certified by an independent authority.
The record the Mirai set was looking to beat the previous one set by Hyundai NEXO, that of 887.5km (551.47 miles).
Amongst the four drives who attained the record for the company was Victorien Erussard, the founder and captain of Energy Observer. James Olden, an engineer at Toyota Motor Europe, Maxime le Hir, Mirai product manager and Marie Gadd, PR manager of Toyota France were the other three drivers.
According to the Toyota newsroom, “To achieve this 1,003 km driving distance record, the drivers adopted an “eco-driving” style but no special techniques that could not be used by everyday drivers.”
The average fuel consumption was 0.55 kg/100km, with the Mirai being able to store 5.6 kg of hydrogen in its three tanks.
“As a former open ocean racer, I need to take challenges and I warmly thank Frank Marotte and his teams to have taken me on this zero-emission adventure, showing that nothing is impossible and that hydrogen mobility is here today!” stated Erussad.
The car was ready for more driving after 5 minutes of refuelling.
Launched at the end of 2020 in Japan, this new Toyota Mirai now has a range of up to 850 km compared to only 550 km with the previous generation.
