Toyota is quite stoked about the quality of the water emitted by its Mirai fuel cell vehicle. Fuel cell vehicles’ only byproducts are heat and exhaust water vapor, both obviously harmless for the planet. But what kind of water is it?
Well, Toyota says the Mirai’s exhaust water is safer than milk. “We tested the health impact of drinking the water in a special lab. They said that compared to drinking milk, this drainage water has much fewer organic impurities,” Seiji Mizuno, the man in charge of designing the car’s fuel stack power generator, told Autonews.
However, to those people who may wonder whether water produced by the Mirai is safe to drink, Toyota answers that it doesn’t recommend it. That’s because the Mirai creates water by combining oxygen from the surrounding air and hydrogen from the fuel tank.
“Depending on the place you are driving, some parts of the world might have certain issues, such as organisms like E. coli, which could be hazardous to your health. You never know what the quality of the air intake is,” Mizuno said.
The official added that the fuel stack neither sterilizes nor distills the water. Internal tests have revealed that the water is slightly acidic, with a pH around 5 or 6. This means it is less acidic than acid rain and even beer. Toyota Mirai owners will probably be a bit disappointed to learn that they will have to continue spending money on drinking water.
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