Toyota Mirai - The HYDROGEN Fuel Cell Car You Can Buy RIGHT NOW.

[@AntoniusTyas]

Call me weird. I really dig the new Mirai, even as a hydrogen FCV. Also, Toyota UK please let James drive the LFA that would be awesome

[@nonamenameless5495]

Same here and I m kinda surprised myself about it...just wrote a comment that was way too long but the more I thought of the car and what Toyota is doing there, the more I liked it...that s become a rare thing for me in terms of cars...and hey, the 50k price point is truly attractive for this tech and such a big limousine.

[@Mojoe44]

I've noticed a mirai operating as a taxi around Sheffield and Chesterfield over the last few months, it's got big 'hydrogen powered' lettering down the side so I assume it's some sort of demonstrator type thing. As you say for commercial vehicles I think hydrogen is going to be far better than battery electric. I know there are already hydrogen buses operating around the country and I've not heard of any major issues with them. For agriculture as well I think it's a much more viable alternative to diesel.

[@WorldwideHypercars]

There are quite a few Mirai Ubers in London. I see them about once a week

[@letter1014]

Hello local 👋

[@chrisogrady28]

Woo sheff peeps, but yes I've also seen a mirai pottering around which maybe has given me a false impression of how popular they are

[@nrs6956]

Yes it could be a possible remedy to out of unreasonable population growth. 'URPG is the current problem we have to address."

[@petyrkowalski9887]

Great news

[@jamesowen418]

we've had several hydrogen powered buses here in Aberdeen, they've had their issues, but I can see it's a viable way forwards, especially for commercial vehicles and town centres where air quality could be greatly improved.

[@jimj2683]

Better to store the hydrogen in e-methanol.

[@chrisbailey1966]

When Renault started selling EVs they put charging stations in at their dealerships so customers had confidence they could get a charge when public points did not really exist. If Toyota really want this to gain pace they are going to have to prime the network either at their dealerships or in collaboration with petrol retailer.

[@bingoberra18]

Its much more expencive and regulated having a H2 station built compared to an electric charger.

[@johnathankain8033]

I’ve said this before. If they put one unit at every dealer they’d have an instant basic network!

[@chrisbailey1966]

@@bingoberra18 That's obviously true and I guess Toyota hoped to avoid more expense. Going by other comments and looking on the H2 refueling map you can see why London and Sheffield are known to have H2 taxi firms. If no one brings the infrastructure then Toyota can't sell many H2 cars nationally. I see that mobile H2 refueling stations are available that operate as self-contained units, even a basic network of them at selected dealerships would get usage off the ground and get the unit costs of the cars down as they sell more.

[@gerhardk98]

While it is true there is no emissions from the tail pipe but hydrogen is energy intensive to make with lots of energy losses at all stages, not really green technology.

[@bingoberra18]

@@gerhardk98 Losses are not the same as being dirty. For example if you have solar and wind energy, but you have a low energy consumtion at the time, you can produce H2 and thereby stabilize the electrical grid. You can then use that H2 when there is a need for it but its cloudy and the wind isnt blowing. You cannot store energy that is produced in any other large scale way. The electricity demand that will peak when everyone hooks up their EVs at home after work need to be balanced with the low consumtion during mid day and night when the sun might be shining and you have wind power production. It is clear that there will be green H2 available. But to produce it at large scale and distribute it is a challenge.

[@TheTerrier]

Good to refer to Harry's video regarding hydrogen vehicles replacing diesel for HGV and heavy plant, definitely a valid use case for those types of vehicle.

[@sparky4878]

I saw that too. Internal combustion hydrogen makes sense in those circumstances. Maybe it’ll develop wider.

[@simonelliott5956]

Absolutely, this is the way forward and fortunately people like JCB are way ahead of the pack.

[@mitchbuchannon6637]

I would love James to do something with Harry

[@InfiniteImprobabilityRacing]

There are technical challenges still to be overcome with hydrogen replacing diesels, but I'm sure that this will be achieved at some point.

[@TheShinyShow]

I'm happy to see more options. You see a lot of "Battery EV's are better so there's no point in developing anything else" type of chat around EV's and it just doesn't really make sense. Look at combustion cars now, we don't just have petrol, we have petrol, diesel, LPG, Chip fat, biofuel etc.

[@iainbagnall4825]

YES! Harry's Garage did a great interview with the head of JCB on this also, on hydrogen ICE which JCB is working on. In short, battery EV doesn't really cut it for commercial/high-utilisation/occasional use cases like: Backup power generation (i.e. instead of diesels), construction equipment (battery would be too heavy, machines need to work 24/7), light aviation (there are battery aircraft, but it makes way less sense from an energy density and weight point of view, and as much as I love old light aircraft it would be nice to get leaded fuels out of aviation finally)

[@petesmitt]

propane is a very clean burning ICE fuel; a great automotive fuel yet it's not mainstream..

[@666Necropsy]

propane LP is simple. a local company uses it for there fleet by me.

[@fatShowPony]

And the 'refuelling' of current generation electric cars is impractical for scaling up volume - the current grid won't handle everyone charging at home at the same time when they get give from work and the other option of public refuelling stations is impractical because they are so slow to charge. Hydrogen retrofitting of existing stations seems a lot more practical to me.

[@jimj2683]

I think e-methanol used as a hydrogen carrier and then reforming it with heat from the fuel cell is the best way. Pressurized hydrogen tanks have an awkward shape that takes up way too much space.

[@autobahnproven]

Awesome reporting James! 👏 I mean this as a compliment: you are becoming more mainstream yet still with your trademark of pulling no punches. Fair and balanced. I could now see myself buying a hydrogen electric car but probably never a fully electric one. Big thanks to Toyota for inviting you - also testimony to your consistent efforts here. 👍

[@davefitzpatrick4841]

do some research into how much energy is used to produce hydrogen, also the drive train isn't as efficient as a EV's. That and storing hydrogen is also a issue . Evs are far more efficient , I have solar and can put that energy straight into my car , battery tech is moving quicker every year, battery's will only get lighter and ranges will improve . I definitely don't think hydrogen cars will ever go mainstream .

[@kieranmandy9987]

living in Tokyo I see these every day. the older model was also far from rare. I know hydrogen production is far from clean at scale currently, but hopefully that can be solved... raping the planet for battery materials currently cannot. love the option presented here and thank you for sharing.

[@Xzibitfreek]

just curious, the other widely known and sold hyrdogen car is the hyundai nexo. considering its a korean car and the mirai a japanese one, how many of those do you see in japan? here in germany its a relation of about 2:1 in favor of the mirai but ive already seen plenty of hyundais as well. since the two are the only hydrogen fuel cell cars sold, theyre often being marketed together here. at work ive actually seen a live photoshoot in front of the airliquid building of both cars next to each other.

[@kieranmandy9987]

@@Xzibitfreek I have never seen one . Not just the Nexo, I do not recall seeing a single Hyundai in my 6 years here in Japan... They may exist, but if they do they are rarer than Caterham...

[@LiamE69]

Spoiler, creating hydrogen economically and cleanly at scale will never happen.

[@simonrb1942]

@@LiamE69 Im currently looking at an org chart in an oil and gas major (my employer) with over 300 people on it, and 100's of millions being invested, focusing PURELY on hydrogen production. If it would never happen, companies wouldn't be investing this much in it. Its going to happen.

[@scottthomson9813]

@@LiamE69 It'll happen before "clean" electricity will.

[@JustAnthonyX]

Brilliant video! I always wondered why the car industry went for EV's over H2O, & the issue was storage. Being the lightest element, you need far more volume of hydrogen than the equivalent of petrol/diesel to do the same journey. This isn't a problem for buses, lorries & ships, but for passenger cars it presents space issues. Toyota have been working tirelessly to figure out how to compress the gas so cars can carry enough to compete in the range stakes. Hopefully they succeed & industry follows by using renewable energy to mass produce green hydrogen. Here's hoping!

[@chrisbrundell4679]

Some very sound points made, I honestly think hydrogen is longer term a better solution that pure ev. The battery issue as mentioned is the concern, and the barrier for hydrogen I believe is the high cost of getting the liquid hydrogen but if they can address that I think its the long term future for us

[@BobMonkeypimp]

The cost would go down massively if production was increased.

[@chrisbrundell4679]

@@BobMonkeypimp I'm no expert but my understanding was current tech meant the electrical needs currently are very high, which makes the production not as economical plus the process leads to more loss v's ev. But yes scaling anything will reduce and I still think long term its more viable than ev's

[@LiamE69]

@@BobMonkeypimp Hydrogen is already a $100bn a year industry. How much more production do you think they'll need to ramp up to before these massive cost improvements kick in?

[@mgutkowski]

The maths is very simple and comes down to the energy needed to make it. I'll give you a clue: more than you can then get from it. This isn't an economy of scale thing, it's fundamental chemistry.

[@BobMonkeypimp]

@@LiamE69 Lithium ion batteries are almost 200 billion dollar industry.

[@Vince_uk]

The Mira is a superb car. I have a company in Shanghai, China which develops, designs and manufactures hydrogen pumps for hydrogen stacks for many companies in China including SIAC who bought Rover and now make Roewe. They are many hydrogen powered vehicles in China from cars to truck and busses and China is investing very heavily in the technology and charging stations. I took a strategic decision 4 years ago to ditch electric vehicle development and focus on hydrogen. For many reason I firmly believe it is the future. We are also using Japanese pump technology and have developed our own but we are not using Toyota although their technology is widely available in China. I have driven an hydrogen powered Roewe. Many photos etc I cannot share on here but we have exhibited in Shanghai at the Shanghai AUto show in conjunction with SAIC. There are many advantages over electric cars a couple of which there is no battery disposal and charging times are literally seconds.

[@johntheaccountant5594]

I gather that Hydrogen would be lighter than a stack of batteries?

[@Vince_uk]

@@johntheaccountant5594 considerably

[@pistonburner6448]

F China. They should be embargoed just like Russia is starting to finally be embargoed.

[@philiptownsend4026]

I believe you are right and wish you great success.

[@Vince_uk]

@@philiptownsend4026 Thank you

[@johnshuker8892]

At last something sensible as a way forward its definitely the way to go. Great video well explained

[@martinmentor]

such a good point about over weight electric vehicles and the battery packs

[@davebowman1982]

Great video. I've been interested in this hydrogen cell tech for ages and I'm amazed more companies haven't gone down this route. Kudos to Toyota for investing so heavily. You're absolutely right that the future of motoring has to be afforded a level of nuance regarding appropriate methods of propulsion for different purposes. This is future tech that excites me 👍🏻

[@LiamE69]

HFC road cars will never happen at anything other than loss leader product development. They are a development dead end.

[@wizzyno1566]

Other manufacturers havent done it because its a stupid idea. The real question is why are Totota wasting their time. My guess is stupidity combined with arrogance.

[@LiamE69]

@@wizzyno1566 I strongly suspect it is not their money they are wasting on it but instead they using energy industry / government money.

[@alfagtvjan]

What a superb, well presented and insightful video laying out the strengths and weaknesses of hydrogen technology. Nice one, James 👍

[@JayEmmOnCars]

Thanks Alan, glad you enjoyed it!

[@kalmmonke5037]

@@JayEmmOnCars they gonna give us free drinking water out the ass of a hydrogen bus?

[@kalmmonke5037]

@@JayEmmOnCars combustion hydrogen going to be also no bad emissions???

[@becauseiwasinverted7971]

@@kalmmonke5037 Not an expert and a while since high school chemistry but I suspect burning hydrogen in an air breathing engine will have NOx emissions to deal with still.

[@ImNotOriginal1]

Another massive advantage of hydrogen over EVs is weather. The range of EVs is greatly affected by how hot/cold it is. Whereas with hydrogen you will get the quoted range regardless.

[@flodjod]

what utter bs

[@ImNotOriginal1]

@@flodjod it won't spontaneously combust like a lot of Teslas. Give it 10 years and you'll see how much better it is

[@paulsimpson8990]

@@ImNotOriginal1 a hydrogen fuel cell car is a BEV that uses H2 to charge the battery

[@ImNotOriginal1]

@@paulsimpson8990 but the battery size compared to BEVs is tiny, because it's usually a backup for providing instant charge to motors. In normal driving the electricity from the fuel cell is enough for the drive.

[@wizzyno1566]

@@ImNotOriginal1 in ten years there will be virtually no use of hydrogen vehicles, just like now.

[@petehampton6051]

Great video James, but I have to throw a hand grenade into this Hydrogen bomb. 99% of the H made currently is by Big Oil from fossil fuels, so no home H generation and lots of tax and duty will still apply unlike current BEV usage. So whilst the vehicles emit zero carbon, further up the supply chain there is literally tonnes of it. Whilst Green H is possible as you rightly pointed out, it is currently not economically viable at scale as you need 4Kw of electricity for every Kw equivalent of green H produced. Add to this the relatively poor efficiency of the fuel cells themselves, currently about 45% plus the quantities of rare earth materials they use and you start to realise that Hydrogen FCV's still have a way to go before going mainstream and only then in Marine, Aero and heavy goods. Whilst I admire Toyota's efforts with the Mirai, it's a demonstration exercise and nothing more. Something else Toyota are working on is Solid State batteries which, if they can commercialise them then that might be a strong technology for many use cases.

[@BigUriel]

Most hydrogen produced in the UK is in refineries and used up internally, there is no reason to produce clean hydrogen there it's just another byproduct of the oil/gas industry. Green hydrogen could be done at a large scale but as you say it would be at a net energy loss so we'd need clean electricity generation with power to spare - the only feasible way to do that in the near future is with nuclear power which has become a pariah because of numpties watching too many sensationalist TV shows. The materials in the fuel cells themselves I don't think is an issue because they are actually used in relatively small amounts and it's the same rare metals already used in every ICE car's catalytic converter today and you can easily recycle these.

[@grahamleiper1538]

The fuelling stations in Aberdeen are actually green hydrogen. Surprised me when I found out. See a few Mirai's up here. It's like an EV for people who don't want to save money.

[@thejacal2704]

Nuclear? Clean coal?

[@rosstee]

I really hope this technology continues to develop as hydrogen power solves the two things I can't stand about most EVs - the huge weight (and production concerns) of batteries, and the lengthy charging times. I still love lightweight cars which are becoming ever rarer, so anything which can combat the increasing mass of modern cars (along with other benefits) is welcome.

[@Brian-om2hh]

So you see no concerns regarding the availability/cost of the platinum used in the manufacture of hydrogen fuel cells? Or the fact that these fuel cells degrade over their working lives, and will need repair or refurbishment at some point?

[@rosstee]

@@Brian-om2hh That doesn't sound so different to the concerns surrounding the resources needed for EV battery production and the limited longevity of those batteries? Nothing is perfect but of the two I prefer the advantages offered by hydrogen power, that's why I hope the technology develops to the point where the downsides are much more limited, if possible.

[@JayMcKinsey]

The Mirai weighs more than a Tesla Model 3. Just look it up.

[@rosstee]

@@JayMcKinsey I'm not looking to buy a Mirai or a Tesla, just more interested in hydrogen power than straight EVs. To be honest I want to keep a petrol car as long as possible.

[@jimj2683]

@@JayMcKinsey It is a larger car...

[@gph42]

I'm a big believer in hydrogen over electric (batteries). Tremendous.

[@DerekDavis213]

There's no comparison. Electric cars can be charged anywhere and everywhere. Hydrogen stations are few in number, and expensive per kilogram of Hydrogen. Toyota Mirai has been in America for 7 years, and it is ONLY viable for customers in San Francisco or Los Angeles. Hydrogen cars are a HUGE failure in America. Meanwhile every homeowner can easily charge a battery EV at home, quickly and cheaply.

[@gph42]

@@DerekDavis213 for now.

[@DerekDavis213]

@@gph42 7 years in America, the world economic power, and Mirai is a giant FAILURE. What is going to change going forward? Tesla, Hyundia, Kia, Porsche, Audi, Ford, GM, etc are all building battery-powered electric vehicles. Elon Musk just *scoffs* at hydrogen, and he is 100% correct. For very little money, a home owner can install a 240 volt 50 amp outlet at home, and put a full 300 miles of charge into their electric car overnight. At low cost too.

[@kabosune9097]

Has that changed yet? ​@@gph42

[@Toyota4Life]

First. Also this car is beautiful inside and outside. A Very advanced vehicle from Toyota that doesn’t get enough attention from the automotive media because it’s not the electric car Norm that’s all the buzz now. Great video as always.

[@georgepom328]

You say that but James May owns one

[@GryphLane]

@@georgepom328 Didn't he sell it not so long ago?

[@dreamcrusher112]

And because Hydrogen isn't feasible at this point in time.

[@georgepom328]

@@GryphLane He sold his first gen one and bought a second gen one

[@Toyota4Life]

@@dreamcrusher112 the reason for that is because they want to PUSH electric cars. If they put the same effort into Hydrogen this would be better but the government wants to push what makes more money

[@1418jeff]

I totally agree that the future is blended when it comes to transport. Love the idea of hydrogen, as you say it’s not the answer to everything and has other issues. Massive amount of electric needed to make it and we must ensure the cheap method of making if (methane) isn’t used. As an EV owner who knows what you mean by charging anxiety I really am hopeful that this technology develops in the UK. Great video as usual, keep up the great work 👍

[@mr_sparkly_face4087]

It’s crazy, here in America these things sell used for 7k with low miles and only being 4 years old because our hydrogen infrastructure is so poor, nobody wants them. Of course if you can get hydrogen it’s the deal of the century

[@aoyamiuriko5059]

what cars are you referring to? I want to see,im looking for one but thats a deal for a just in case scenario lol

[@williamfence566]

Ever since the James may piece many years ago it always seemed to make more sense to develop Hydrogen over Battery Ev especially at the time. With sky rocketing Electric prices and sanctions on Russia it seems we missed that opportunity of development to be less reliant now

[@stephena2720]

Have been waiting for hydrogen vehicles ever since seeing James May review one on top gear many moons ago. Have never liked electric vehicles due to the batteries but would be more than happy to go with a hydrogen alternative. Suspect it'll take at least another 10 years before the fueling constraints are resolved. It'll be petrol hybrid for me up until they do, as battery vehicles were never the solution.

[@shanepatrick641]

Don’t forget for the prices to go down! I have no chance of buying these new cars. They just cost way too much nowadays.

[@LiamE69]

You'll be waiting a lot longer too. Hydrogen fuel cells cars are dead on their arse before getting to the starting gate. The fuel will ALWAYS be more expensive than electricity for an EV. Then there is the engineering problems of fuel distribution. YIt could be installed but at huge cost. Whereas the vast majority of of the needed electricity infrastructure is already in place.

[@Captain_Scarlet_SIG]

Interesting James a very nice review and glad to see you raise the point on batteries on EV’s and the environmental issues around them especially the materials needed in construction of them.

[@AUSTiNKiNSER]

I’ve owned my Mirai for 4 months now and absolutely love it!

[@poovaneswaransupramaniam19]

Wonderful review, looking forward to having the mirai launched in malaysia in the near future

[@guylambrechts2303]

Finally someone who appreciates the efforts of Toyota! If I only had an LFA...

[@davidmoore6172]

Extremely well presented and some extremely good points made. Thoroughly enjoyed your review👍👍👍

[@beaches2mountains230]

I truly believe batteries are NOT the answer..They are called rare earth minerals for a reason.

[@fullboost]

Cool video, cheers

[@DavidFerriday]

I think we will be driving these instead of EV once the logistics are sorted.

[@davidarter9670]

This is the practical future for cars, not the battery powered behemoths. This seems to be a really nice car, too. Thankyou for another excellent report James

[@Pete_1986]

Hydrogen might be zero emission at the point of use in a vehicle like this, but the process of isolating hydrogen so that it can be used as a fuel requires vast amounts of energy; energy that mostly comes from burning fossil fuels!

[@jo05dk]

I haven't been following the hydrogen car scene, so i don't know.. I wholeheartedly agree with the points you put forwards, and if hydrogen were available where i need it, i would choose a hydrogen car over an EV in a heartbeat. Only thing is.. Hydrogen is some pretty explosive stuff. It won't burn forever, no, but it does seem to prefer going out with a bang. Don't know if they've solved that. Certainly a point of concern for me. Anywhich way: The first Mirai is hideous, but i rather like this version. Toyota is onto something with this hydrogen business, imho.

[@yinyangsaladgang8789]

Honestly all your complaints apply to liquid petroleum fuels as well. I think the only real difference in safety would be that hydrogen is pressurised and so ruptured tanks could explode, but we've been using natural gas for ages and it's perfectly safe most of the time.

[@TheSteinbitt]

@@yinyangsaladgang8789 Low range and long refueling time at dedicated stations that are rare, no opportunity at refueling at home, high pressure explosives. It’s basically the worst of both worlds.

[@jo05dk]

@@yinyangsaladgang8789 While I have heard about gas powered vehicles, most of them have been forklifts and the like. The Mirai James is showcasing in this video has three hydrogen tanks, and hydrogen is kept at 700 bar/10000psi apparently. That's a shit ton of pressure. I usually like to keep my distance to such things, and wouldn't want to drag a tank under such pressure out on the streets, but I do acknowledge that the good people from Toyota are aware of this, and have thought about it when they designed the car. Judging by a how to handle hydrogen folder from my country's fire authorities, I'm guessing hydrogen and petrol aren't equal from a safety aspect. ..but it's not as black and white as some may think. There appears to be benefits to hydrogen too. It is, as I already stated, an area to learn about for me 🙂

[@LiamE69]

@@yinyangsaladgang8789 There is quite a difference between low pressure natural gas and 700 bar hydrogen. It is actually pretty hard to make and explosive gas/air mixture. It is hard not to make an explosive hydrogen air mixture and hydrogen has a tiny activation energy. Imagine what these cars are going to be like 10-15 down the line when people start skimping on the servicing of the fuel system and having the great unwashed fiddling with them. Ever had a fuel leak in your car? I have. And it is way easier to keep unpressurised liquid in than 10,000psi gas. Not to worry though the cost of the fuel and the lack of availability of it will keep them all off the road.

[@johnathankain8033]

Aberdeen has a fleet of hydrogen buses that (for the most part) have been running for a few years very successfully now. Hydrogen also provides the solution to people who can’t charge an EV at home because they live in flats etc.

[@lt1fd3s]

Great video Jayemm!! I've heard of the Hydrogen cars... and I agree, the "filling/recharge to range" ratio has been one of my point of discussion on EV cars - especially in America! personally I like the idea of hydrogen fuel cell over a plugin EV

[@liamsce5082]

Huge respect for Toyota and the way their brand is going. Not sticking with the single minded EV approach but being brave and investing in new alternative technologies whilst increasing their GR range for petrolheads

[@michaelcole3998]

I think your spot on that commercial use is prime for hydrogen as it doesn't seem plausible for electric to handle all commercial use. We also need to switch over to bet zero electricity generation to ensure that the electrolysis process is green as well but better chance of that then making batteries green.

[@The_Original_Geoff_B]

Ahhhh - I thought we were going to get a "Double JM" episode where you discussed the Mirai with Mr. May . . . . Once we have economical fusion power generation (probably in the late 2050's) then this is clearly the way to go.

[@andylow8040]

Great video . I am very much against the electric revolution purely because of the battery production and disposal, which is so ungreen its painful. I'd not really seen a lot on hydrogen fuel cells so thank you. also nice to see a zero emissions car that looks and drives like a car

[@craigroberts5965]

It's nice to hear a KZbinr talk sensibly and honestly about the issue of batteries

[@Rjhs001]

Thanks James, really interesting. I have to say, I do love the way Toyota go about things.

[@Sauceyjames]

"are we going to be in your video?" "Well you are now" 😅🤣🤣🤣 gotta love people's curiosity

[@thenotanclan]

From a convenience and environmental point of view cars like this make a lot more sense than battery EV’s - when more hydrogen becomes more widely available at the pumps and as the cost of these cars comes down why buy anything else?

[@sergeypavlov7249]

An electric passenger car competes with a fuel cell passenger car. For fuel cell trucks, electric trucks are not competitors. The electric truck has many problems. Large battery, charging problems. Fuel cell trucks do not have these problems.

[@bryanporter3025]

I'd have one in a heartbeat if I could afford one ....as a fuel hydrogen is a no brainer .....but seems to me something sinister is a foot ....why everything has to be powered by batteries and electricity......excellent video 👍

[@valvodka]

This car is electric. Hydrogen is generating the electricty

[@simon8089]

Toyota were over a decade ahead with hybrid tech, I hope this takes off too. Hydrogen as a means of energy storage is so much more sustainable than batteries.

[@wizzyno1566]

No it isnt. The conversion energy costs are ridiculous.

[@encinobalboa]

Correct. EV nuts never talk about environmental cost of mining Lithium, Cobalt, and Nickel. EV nuts never talk about battery recycling which is more expensive than mining which means their is no incentive to recycle. Hydrogen is a lot cleaner than EV.

[@rdmz135]

@@encinobalboa source?

[@timsnipe8960]

@@encinobalboa Hydrogen is only as clean as the energy source used to create it.

[@encinobalboa]

@@rdmz135 Recycling cost analysis is easily found on Google. Batteries are ground up which turns wet Lithium batteries into black paste. Metals must be separated from the paste which is more expensive than mining "new" material.

[@jeffallinson8089]

Great vid, loved it. This is really old news though as Top Gear and James May in particular were championing the Honda Clarity years ago.

[@maereanm]

the biggest problem with the Hydrogen Fuel Cell Car is the 22% power-plant-to-wheel efficiency (from Wikipedia (KZbin deletes comments with links in them)). out of each 1 kWh generated from a solar panel, only 0,22 kWh is used to move the car forward. hydrogen is obtained by running electric current through water (H2O). a BEV Battery Electric Vehicle has a 75% efficiency, which is 3.4 times better. so we wouldn't want 1 billion of fuel cell cars.

[@eddstarr2185]

The Toyota Mirai is an interesting car as a "video only" drive review. It's unlikely I will ever see a Mirai in my city due to the lack of publicly available compressed hydrogen outlets. However, considering the details of fuel cell operation, this would be well suited to commercial fleet vehicle operators. Fascinating information, thank you, James.

[@EzraMerr]

@eddstarr2185 I think both the Conservative and now Labour led government have been involved in preparing hydrogen infrastructure by 2030

[@gepal7914]

You are so right focus on the weight of the batteries. You mention wear and tear on the roads, but few people are talking about the potential for bridges collapsing. There is so much old infrastructure in the world, and little of it was conceived for the weight of EV‘s.

[@2WheelsRoadTraveler]

This can be the future of car industry!Hope they will figure it out how to produce hydrogen much easier

[@JowoHD]

Cool to see you driving round Leatherhead near the end. Hope you enjoyed dealing with the horrific roads

[@awild10]

Good to see fuel cell technology is starting to see more development. I've long thought that the issue of charging time and weight makes battery powered EVs a bit of a tech dead end, especially given how impractical a solution it is as a replacement for vehicles with large diesel engines. How on earth will batteries replace the engines in a large cruise liner? Surely this must really be the future?

[@gabrielcaramet3238]

I do quite like this and the Hyundai nexo

[@AranOCNC]

Thanks for covering this car and hydrogen in general. Imo its not talked about enough

[@philiptownsend4026]

I've read a lot of the comments here and it seems many people are realising that lithium battery powered cars are a technical and financial blind alley and even possibly unsafe due to their great weight. Hydrogen is definitely the way to go, eventually, when production and distribution issues are more developed. Then there is the issue of how the hydrogen is used - burn it in an internal combustion engine or run a fuel cell to power electric motors. I favour burning as it would require less development time and money and the car would still behave and feel like a car, rather than an electric appliance. But we shall see. But Lithium powered motor vehicles are just a flash in the pan in the great scheme of things. Thanks James for highlighting hydrogen power, you have people thinking and discussing, the way revolutions start.

[@fransb8543]

I could see this as a replacement for my Lexus in a few years. I love its looks as well.

[@jobst-hinrichjacke7593]

Fascinating to watch a video on a futuristic car I drive almost every day for three months now (with the steering wheel on the left side). Only downside is the really small trunk and the somewhat old fashioned navigation and infotainment system, besides that it is just a normal car and very few people recognize it as something special.

[@martinmentor]

Let's get the hydrogen network growing. So many benefits especially for continuous usage vehicles

[@Pete_1986]

It's not as green as you think. Vast amounts of energy are required to isolate hydrogen so it can be used to fuel vehicles. This energy comes mostly from fossil fuels at present.

[@martinmentor]

@@Pete_1986 no it isn't, but neither are battery packs

[@choo-chop4510]

@@martinmentor em it is. I'd imagine the long term solution would be to link solar farms or wind turbines directly to hydrogen production. Battery packs far from perfect but they can at least be recycled / reused for new battery packs.

[@dopo666]

I agree with you on the future of transport being mixed fuels. The roll out on this stuff is going too vary from country to country due too geography. I think Toyota's ahead of the curve in targeting other transport vehicles like trucks, buses, cabs and shipping.

[@christopherpearce7368]

Very interesting video and car, seems a better solution than heavy battery packs. I am reminded of two things. The first was a BMW 7 series on Tomorrow’s World powered by hydrogen in the late 1980’s and the second was the comment that the problem with mass market hydrogen cars is that they have been 10 years away for the last 40 years.

[@scottpsychodub6385]

Spot on, battery power is not environmentally friendly.

[@ayeoooo]

Own one absolutely love it

[@wheelerd02]

Enjoyable video my guy, a good varied selection of vehicles on the channel and and a personable presenting style. I am sure it's been noticed already but notice the FCV numberplate, Fuel Cell Vehicle.

[@kpw66]

I'm using headphones to listen to YT and the advert in 6:45 nearly killed me. Man, have mercy.

[@Alejandro_BoniIIa]

The appropriate powertrain based on the type of vehicle makes much more sense than simply electrifying everything.

[@chrisnic8894]

Interesting technology, good to see the engineers really considering options other than BEV.

[@reinmansmith]

I agree entirely with all the points you’ve raised and have said for some time that there should be more openness to alternatives such as hydrogen fuel cells instead of the headlong rush into just BEVs. Thanks for highlighting this, hopefully the more people that are made aware of this technology the more widely it will be considered 👍

[@TheRatchet35]

The ad/B roll at 3:57 is shot at a hydrogen fuel station in Zaventem, Belgium less than 5 minutes from me and I actually saw it being shot. Small world. That blue paint is beautiful. At first I thought it was a Structural Blue Lexus LC because it’s so vibrant.

[@chrisjones5011]

Hi James, I agree that a mixed solution to transport is necessary to ensure we meet our obligations to the environment, however combustion is not the future, hydrogen combustion does actually produce NoX which is not good. Hydrogen EV and BEV are the only viable solutions long term and as you pointed out BEV isn't actually all that good! Take a look at a company called Riversimple and see if you can get a drive in one of their cars, their interpretation on personal transport use case, ownership and the circular economy are very enlightened. Best regards, Chris.

[@rjkStudios]

This is a really cool car, and I'm glad that Toyota is venturing into fuel cell technology. To me, this is so much better than driving around with 1,200 pounds / 540kg of batteries. If anyone here remembers the GM Hy-Wire hydrogen fuel cell car from 20 years ago where they advertised that the only emission was pure, clean water - it's a shame that the Americans just let that disappear without further development over the last 20 years.

[@EvilZombo]

This is awesome for an everyday car, bit surprised hydrogen is so expensive though

[@markantonio1673]

Very clear and concise. Well done

[@ianstoys13mgs]

Is the Hydrogen just another "fuel" that has to be manufacture and distributed ( more energy resources used ) ?

[@comeberza]

It is, but hydrogen production gets greener as electricity production gets more ecological. What we do with fuels that are not fossil fuels is cycling energy instead of releasing more energy into the cycle

[@julianowens4071]

Love this , seems better than loads of heavy battles

[@LeDudeinabox]

I think I've seen JCB using hydrogen powered heavy construction machinery, makes sense when you think of the weight of batteries needed on something like that would be nuts. Really interesting tech and I really look forward to see how it develops.

[@isaacmelgar9647]

If I remember correctly, you're just about right on the water discharge system Around the back or sort of near the rear axle, there is a small pipe that drops the water onto the pavement

[@karlosh9286]

Good video. One thing I don't think you mentioned is where HFCEV is better than BEV is for people who don't have a front driveway. So blocks of flats, or some older terraced housing with very small or no front gardens. Getting these cars wired up to overnight charging is a bit tricky. In the older terraced housing, that could be charging cables trailing over pavements. Just thing the 'Elf n Safety angles on that ! Yes charging cables could be run underground to the kerbside , then it's the mere fact of making sure the person can park in front of their house ! Not always easy in such places. It's usually a game of musical chairs , I mean cars, actually getting their parking space. These drivers really need to fill their cars with energy at well a filling station. Electric is just too difficult to charge at home, and too slow at filling stations. Even myself, with a front driveway, I don't think I'd want to charge the thermally unstable devices that Li-Ion batteries are next to my house let alone a garage attached to the house. I think HFCEV has a really good future, once the filling infrastructure is there for as you mention the vehicles that just can't run on batteries, like buses, hgvs, taxis, delivery vans.

[@carlosnunocardoso3386]

Best vídeo on the channel

[@ollieo6681]

Can’t wait to see this technology in Australia. Hyundai has started. The charge time is a big factor out here,.

[@The_Noticer.]

Thanks for being sensible on the subject. It seems like everyone bet on a horse and doesnt want a multitude of solutions. Its very narrowminded. Additionally. These green zones are now basically class-based sectors, as EV cars are still out of reach for most financially.

[@sergeypavlov7249]

A hydrogen car can be cheap and it won't affect range on a single tank.

[@DLNix]

James great video. Biggest set back for Hydrogen at least in US is infrastructure is a joke outside of California. Definitely prefer to buy hydrogen over EV once infrastructure can support it.

[@JanHejn]

Cute idea. Much better than ICE but much worse than a normal EV. You need vast amounts of electricity just to make hydrogen but also to pump it to store it under pressure then the car needs to convert the hydrogen back to the elecricity (for the normal EV motor) used to make the hydrogen in the first place. Staggering losses. Basically it is just an EV with a hydrogen battery that needs to be refilled :D Not even considering the Hydrogen stations and there lack of. Still vastly superior in emissions than any ICE also quite managable for heavy vehicles

[@SDK2006b]

I'm not a fan of Hydrogen for cars but the argument that it takes 'vast amounts' more electricity to produce is mute, because in the not too distant future (6 years) there will 50GW of wind generation connected to the Grid. The UK only demands about 28GW during the day so what can all that excess power generation be used for ........... 🤔 (yes I know the wind isn't blowing all the time)

[@JanHejn]

@@SDK2006b The grid and how much electricity we make is not an issue. It is the fact you need to produce electricity to produce any hydrogen to produce electricity from hydrogen in cars. Which to me seems stupid and inefficent. Major losses of energy on manufacturing and converting a suplementary product that is not actually needed

[@SDK2006b]

@@JanHejn - efficiencies in getting hydrogen won’t matter when there will be tens of GW’s of unused energy going spare.

[@JanHejn]

@@SDK2006b They will matter always there is nothing as unused energy in near future it is always used or stored. It is not the best idea to make hydrogen just for sake of making it. The motor runs on electricity you can just scratch the useless losses of hydrogen and rather focus on better batteries and efficent motor.

[@davidarter6271]

Hydrogen powered cars are definatily the future. For me, in Australia, long haul journeys are the norm rather than the exception for me. EV’s just don’t do it over here, but these would replace petrol cars quite nicely. All I need now is a long wheelbase high performance version (ie: XJR, but hydrogen powered) would be just the ticket. Overall a fine review as always James. Thankyou

[@RebelDrifter]

Christ Almighty that Roadstr Pop Up scared the BEjezus out of me. The sound!

[@jamesbambury]

Loved this video !! Stick this in your charging post and smoke it the electric car driving holier that thow mob.

[@johnmackay5288]

Excellent video, easily my choice over a BEV once the infrastructure improves.

[@gordonhamilton727]

Fantastic, Hydrogen has to be the way forward.

[@damienlee1165]

Seeing a 1st gen and a 2nd gen like the one reviewed here parked side by side has to be one of the strangest thing ever. Literally 2 different cars.

[@TIMSANDYSURF]

That was a brilliant analysis of the hydrogen fuel cell vehicle. Great work.

[@thecoops2329]

'The green badge of piousness' 😅 Lovely stuff james 👏🏻

[@paulking54]

Good episode!!! well done for raising the hydrogen issue. Where does the hydrogen come from??

[@mjm_1905]

fantastic video Jay!

[@colinhead284]

Thank you James

[@garymcaleer6112]

Amazing, Jay! Years ago when H-cars were being discussed and their exhaust being H2O, I thought of wet roadways causing accidents.

[@wolfiestreet6899]

Bless....

[@thameswanderer]

Brilliant! It's the future imho. 👍

[@cubstig]

James, you're absolutely bob on.

[@EdgyNumber1]

How many Toyota dealerships in the country? Why not install off-grid hydrogen generators and dedicated solar cells at each dealership? Ready hydrogen filling stations!

[@sergeypavlov7249]

Toyota will not be allowed to enter the hydrogen market in either Britain or Europe. The infrastructure for hydrogen is made by such companies as Linde, Iveco. The launch of hydrogen energy is planned for 2023.

[@sportzntouring]

It's so awesome that Toyota are leading the way on this, so we're not putting all our eggs in one environmental basket. I hope they can overcome the challenges of the hydrogen combustion race cars, now that is something I want to see come to the road!

[@nonamenameless5495]

You picked the right car, both for Toyota and for us, everything has been said about the LFA and at least for me, the Mirai is the most interesting Toyota being their torchbearer in terms of technology. Mercedes used to have a big edge with their fuel cell cars in the late 90s early 2000s and then sadly stopped their programme in favour of short term profit - a thing Toyota has not done with its hybrid concepts so I m confident they re in for the long run . I might despise the Prius and even more so the cult around it (replaced by the EV religion nowadays) but the stamina they had with it or all their hybrids is still remarkable and made hybrids become a thing in general. One huge issue I always had with Toyota is their styling and interior design (incl. selection of materials) but the Mirai is a big positive surprise- I particularly like its front. Looks a lot like Kia s Stinger due to the overall layout but that s by no means a bad thing in my eyes...the interior sadly still seems to be far from its German rivals even though VW lost a lot of ground in recent years. BUT - and this is a big one- for a huge limousine like that with all this new tech and the good Toyota build quality, 50ish k is an extremely competitive price point in nowadays insane market...one of my friends bought an ID3 (big battery but not even remotely a high spec) for 45k...that s an entirely different category of a car and the interior is shameful for the VW badge and a disaster to use (touch sensors with everything is a big mistake). The more I write and think about it, the more I like the Mirai and appreciate what Toyota is doing there! I d call that a really good sign :)