For the automotive industry, projecting towards a future free of emissions is a common goal for many of its participants. In the case of Toyota, its goal is to reach zero net emissions by 2035.
To achieve this goal, the Japanese automaker is exploring multiple alternatives to create battery electric, fuel cell electric, hybrid electric and hydrogen combustion cars. About this latest technology, a prototype was recently presented.
Toyota Corolla Cross H2, a concept car with hydrogen combustion
As a result of its recent research and the engineering advances resulting from that work, Toyota presented its Corolla Cross H2 Concepta prototype road vehicle, whose engine works thanks to the combustion of hydrogen.
This vehicle is powered by a 1.6L 3-cylinder turbo engine, the same used in the GR Corollabut modified with a high-pressure hydrogen direct injection engine technology.
The Corolla Cross H2 prototype that Toyota recently introduced can carry up to 5 passengers and their luggage. Currently, the digital tools that will be implemented in the vehicle are still being developed, to be promptly subjected to winter technical evaluations, in northern Japan.
Hydrogen combustion as an energy source for new cars stands out for the flexibility that its use offers to take advantage of current internal combustion engine technologies, its reduced refueling times and the considerable reduction in the use and requirement of materials with finite supplies, such as lithium and nickel.
This energy alternative is friendly to current technologies, as it is possible to modify it to implement hydrogen combustion in comprehensive and affordable carbon reduction solutions, maximizing the investments already made.
As Toyota points out in the press release for this announcement, the Corolla Cross H2 Concept and other similar projects from the company are about 40% of the way towards their commercial launch. However, it is still in doubt whether the use of this technology is projected by the manufacturer as an alternative for use on highways and the city, or as race cars, a sports instance to which the company has recently dedicated a lot. attention.