Toyota Mirai Goes 1,000 KM with One Tank of Hydrogen
On Wednesday, May 26, a second-generation Toyota Mirai set a new world record for distance driven with one fill of hydrogen. The journey started at a hydrogen station in Orly, a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, and covered 1,003 kilometers on French public roads (or just over 623 miles for the Americans among you).
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Four drivers took turns at the wheel, and the distance and fuel consumption was certified by an independent third party. The Mirai’s fuel tank can hold 5.6 kilograms of hydrogen, or about 37.5 gallons, meaning that in the end it used only 0.55 kg per 100 km.
This beat the previous record set by the Hyundai Nexo, which had been driven 887.5 km between Melbourne and Broken Hill in Australia at an average speed of 42 mph. Toyota did not reveal the average speed of the Mirai during its record-breaking trip.
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At the end of the trip, the Toyota Mirai indicated that it had nine kilometers left in it. Under normal driving conditions, the hydrogen fuel cell vehicle is rated to go 650 kilometers on a single tank of fuel, which takes only five minutes to fill up. The drivers adopted an “eco-driving” style to achieve the record but no special techniques that regular drivers couldn’t employ.
That a completely emission-free car can go 623 miles after a five-minute fill-up is one of the reasons Toyota is less enthusiastic about battery-electric cars than hydrogen fuel cell technology. The way the industry is going, however, the future is more likely to be comprised of 300-400-mile-range EVs that need a 30-minute recharging break on long road trips.
Kurt Verlin was born in France and lives in the United States. Throughout his life he was always told French was the language of romance, but it was English he fell in love with. He likes cats, music, cars, 30 Rock, Formula 1, and pretending to be a race car driver in simulators; but most of all, he just likes to write about it all. See more articles by Kurt.