Toyota is still not fully betting on pure electric vehicles and promoting liquid hydrogen concept cars to participate in the competition

On May 30th, it was reported that during the Super Endurance race held in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan over the weekend, the next generation of alternative fuels (i.e

On May 30th, it was reported that during the Super Endurance race held in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan over the weekend, the next generation of alternative fuels (i.e. carbon neutral fuels) became a hot topic of attention both on and off the track.

This race is called the Super TaikyuSeries and is held at the Fuji International Circuit. This endurance race lasts for 24 hours, and dozens of participating cars are divided into different groups based on engine size and speed.

In the experimental group, Toyota launched its world's first liquid hydrogen fuel racing car, the Corolla H2 concept car. This car was originally scheduled to debut in March, but its release plan was postponed due to a fire caused by a hydrogen leak in the engine compartment.

Last Sunday, surrounded by excited fans and curious reporters, Akio Toyoda, former president of Toyota and president of Japan Automobile Association, drove the car to complete the race.

A representative from Toyota stated that there are no issues with this car, but there is still a lot to learn about hydrogen fuel. Although pure electric vehicles are an important tool in our efforts to achieve net zero carbon emissions, hydrogen fuel is also a choice that we cannot ignore, "said Toyota CEO Hiroshi Sato

In today's rapidly expanding global electric vehicle market, Elon Musk's Tesla and China's BYD remain leaders.

In April this year, Toyota announced plans to sell 1.5 million pure electric vehicles annually by 2026. As the world's largest automaker, Toyota believes that the transition to fully electric vehicles will take longer than expected. Meanwhile, in order to reduce emissions faster, Toyota has launched cars powered by alternative energy sources such as batteries, hybrid engines, gasoline engines, and hydrogen and synthetic fuels.

The Corolla H2 concept car was initially powered by gaseous hydrogen fuel. Although the engine has not been replaced, its fuel supply system has been modified to use liquid hydrogen, which saves space and time as it does not require so many bulky compression equipment.

Nevertheless, hydrogen fuel still has its drawbacks. Even in a liquid state, it needs to be stored at minus 250 degrees Celsius. In addition, this fuel is expensive, difficult to source, and the production process also requires a large amount of electricity.

The liquid hydrogen used to power the Corolla H2 concept car last weekend is called "blue hydrogen", which is extracted from fossil fuels and shipped from Australia. Critics point out that if fossil fuels are used to produce hydrogen fuel, it is far from being carbon neutral and may even be referred to as "drifting green".

However, for better or worse, hydrogen fuel is rapidly gaining attention. Last Saturday, Pierre Fillon, the chairman of the car club Del'Ouest, announced that starting from 2026, the world's most famous endurance race, the Le Mans series, will allow hydrogen powered cars to enter the top division. He said, "Both fuel cells and hydrogen internal combustion engines will be accepted

Not long ago, Honda Motor Company suddenly announced its return to Formula One racing. The Japanese automaker stated that its goal is to strengthen F1's decarbonization efforts by 2030 and use this grand racing sport as a testing ground for reducing commercial vehicle emissions.

In the final hours of Sunday's competition, Toyota held a demonstration of Japan's first domestically produced synthetic fuel. The company's executives say that unlike fossil fuels, "electronic fuels" produced from carbon dioxide and hydrogen, which rely on clean and renewable electricity to electrolyze water to produce hydrogen and synthesize fuel, will become increasingly cheap and accessible. Even in the global automotive industry's rush to achieve electrification, car owners can retain their gasoline powered vehicles.

On Sunday, Takeshi Sato, CEO of Japan's Yinneng Holdings Co., Ltd., stated that the company's goal is to start selling imported synthetic fuels by 2027, but production in China may not begin until 2030.

This oil company stated that it takes one day to produce a barrel of electronic fuel. But by 2050, when all people (not only the automobile industry) need to achieve carbon neutrality, Yinnengshi hopes to produce thousands of barrels of electronic fuel every day.

Toyota's CEO and several government officials attended the demonstration event, including the Deputy Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan. He promised to support the development of alternative fuels through the government's Green Innovation Fund, which is a key element of his controversial GX green transformation policy.

The Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry previously stated that its goal is to commercialize synthetic fuels by 2040, but the agency announced on Monday that it will advance this target date to around 2030. (Small)