Toyota is among the pioneering automotive factories in the use of renewable energy in its line of high-end, urban vehicles and has also proven its efficiency in competitions. In 2023 he had already presented in the race its first prototype with a hydrogen engine with some deficiencies and for this year it optimized its model achieving greater efficiency on the slopes.
What is this new Toyota hydrogen engine like?
As part of the last Napac Fuji SUPER TEC 24 Hours competition held between May 24 and 26 at the Fuji Circuit in Japan, the hydrogen engine made its debut in the Super Taikyu Series tests. liquid, improving the last presentation of the previous year.
The new Toyota GR Corolla H2 The competition model presented this year optimized the hydrogen engine technology through an alternative pump that introduces a new double-drive crank system that optimizes the resistance of the pump.
It is important to take into account the challenge that a liquid hydrogen engine generates on a competition track due to the demands it entails. keep fuel at extremely low temperatures of at least -253 degrees Celsius during filling and storage.
Even so, this new model demonstrated that it can double its capacity and autonomy and provide greater energy density using the same tank recharging times.
How does the new engine work?
One of the deficiencies that the 2023 model had was in the axle bearings and the gears located at one end of the connecting rod, which when the temperature rose due to the effect of the oil had to withstand unequal loads, which caused accelerated wear of the engine.
The novelty of this new model with double drive crank is that it equalizes the engine torque pressure at both ends of the crankshaft, achieving a balanced movement of the booster piston, which increases engine durability.
Additionally, other modifications have been applied in relation to the previous line, such as the oval design of the liquid hydrogen tank, leaving behind its cylindrical shape. This innovation has contributed to doubling the volume of stored content.
Therefore, by increasing accumulated liquid hydrogen levels, It also increases the autonomy of the vehicle compared to the 700 bar compressed gaseous hydrogen tanks used until 2022.
Sustainable advantages of Toyota’s new hydrogen engine model
The technology applied in this development has perfected the carbon capture system with respect to the previous model, acting in the air intake system instead of at the exhaust level. In this sense, the carbon is stored in an additional tank that in the 2023 edition was manually separated.
However, in this current line it introduces a mechanism that activates the air carbon separation function automaticallyrotating a carbon absorption filter while the vehicle is running.
With all these modifications, the fuel pump that had had to be replaced twice in the previous race with the loss of time that this situation has implied, this year has evolved with greater reliability and maintaining temperatures at their rigorous marks.
In this way, the new optimization of the hydrogen engine has achieved a more competitive and agile prototype with fewer pit stops and reduced lap times due to the weight reduction achieved by more than 50 kg compared to the previous engine.
The success achieved on the tracks this year predicts for Toyota the feasibility of launching a competitive and efficient hydrogen engine for urban lines, which marks a new milestone for sustainable mobility in the world.
