Toyota loans two hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles to DOE

Following a record-setting year of plug-in electric vehicle sales in the US, the federal government is continuing an "all-of-the-above" alternative energy strategy to ensure folks don't forget about the wonders of hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicles (FCEV). In fact, the US Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is borrowing four FCEVs from Toyota for a couple of years to see just how potentially wonderful they are.

The Toyota Highlander FCEVs will be used by NREL to further infrastructure development while getting a better handle on driving patterns and other data. NREL will also showcase the vehicles at events for public-education purposes and is even conducting a contest for graphic-design students in the Denver area to create decals for the vehicles.

FCEVs are thought of in some alt-fuel circles as a best-of-all-worlds solution because they can go almost as far as conventional gas-powered vehicles on a full tank but emit only water vapor from their tailpipes. Developing both the vehicles and the infrastructure has been prohibitively expensive, though. That said, Toyota is among about eight vehicle makers planning to start selling hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles in 2015, though that model will be based on a sedan, not an SUV. Additionally, the automaker announced a fuel cell technology-development agreement with German competitor BMW last week. The companies will also develop lightweighting technology for the vehicles.

News Source: NREL