Toyota MIRAI Fuel Cell Vehicle and Progress Toward a Future Hydrogen Society

Toyota has developed a Fuel Cell Vehicle (FCV) called MIRAI. The MIRAI retains FCHV-adv's excellent qualities of zero emissions, large cruising range, cold start, and short refueling time, with further improvements towards quiet operation and better acceleration. The oxygen reduction reaction activity in the MIRAI has been enhanced by a factor of 1.8 over the 2008 FCV model via optimization of the composition of the PtCo catalyst. The novel flow-field structure provides added pathways for gas flow. The flow-field structure is designed to decrease airflow toward the gas diffusion layer (GDL) near the air inlet, and cathode drying is mitigated by the removal of the system humidifier. In the MIRAI, the tank is newly designed to remove the high-angle helical winding in the boundary section by revising the liner structure in terms of flattening the rounded portion of the boundary section, along with winding the CFRP in a higher-strength hoop configuration. Even with the improvements and cost reductions, the MIRAI price is still higher than that of a typical family car; further cost reduction is required for widespread adoption of the FCV.