Toyota is going to supply Californian dealerships selling their Mirai fuel-cell model with temporary hydrogen stations as some customers put off taking delivery of their cars until the hydrogen refueling infrastructure is ready.
Air Products & Chemicals will provide mobile hydrogen trailers to serve as a stopgap until the state opens more stations, Doug Coleman, marketing manager at Toyota said in an interview with Bloomberg.
The supplier of these mobile hydrogen trailers is a steady supporter in Toyota’s efforts to create an acceptable hydrogen fueling infrastructure, having already funded Toyota’s startup FirstElement Fuel last year.
As of last month, only four stations were open for retail use in California. Toyota will sell about 1,000 Mirais in 2016 and at the moment around 43 stations are being built or getting their permits, according to the California Fuel Cell Partnership.
“There are a number of customers who’ve said ‘you know, I’m going to hang on; I don’t need the car right away; I’m waiting for my station to be built and fully operational before I take the car’”, Coleman said. “That’s totally fine with us.”
The mobile trailers operate using battery and solar power, being capable of providing half-fills of the Mirai’s tank, giving drivers around 150 miles of range. With a total capacity of 85 kg of hydrogen, the trailers can provide fuel to about three dozen cars.
Dealers will keep the stations on their premises as long as it takes for the hydrogen infrastructure to catch up, said Coleman.
PHOTO GALLERY
