The Toyota Corolla Cross H2 Concept is a step closer to the commercialization of the hydrogen internal combustion engine.
The Toyota Corolla Cross H2 Concept shows us what a future family car with an internal combustion engine that runs on hydrogen may look like. And, except for the unique design, it appears to be a Corolla Cross in the same way as the others.
Until today, Toyota had only revealed a competitive Corolla — which it had raced in the Super Taikyu Series last year — and a prototype of the GR Yaris with a hydrogen combustion engine.
The utilization of the G16E-GTS, the three-cylinder turbo with 1.6 l of the GR Yaris, is common to all of them, including the Corolla Cross H2 Concept, which was presented during the 24 Hours of Fuji, proof of the Super Taikyu Series, which took place on the 3rd and 5th of June.
The Corolla Cross H2 Concept is distinguished from the other two by the fact that its usefulness has not been compromised. The back seats of both the racing Corolla and the GR Yaris have been removed to accommodate the massive hydrogen tanks required.
Because the Corolla Cross H2 is a larger SUV, the two hydrogen tanks may be «stored» under the cabin floor using the same technology as the Mirai, an electric car with a hydrogen fuel cell. This allows the Corolla Cross H2 to retain the capacity of five additional Corolla Cross seats.
The debut of this prototype is significant because it demonstrates Toyota’s commitment to delivering hydrogen combustion technology to the market, not just for competition.
In remarks to Automotive News, Koji Saito, head of the competition program for hydrogen combustion engines, indicated that Toyota is 40 percent of the way to commercializing this technology, “already being part of the development cycle of items meant for mass production.”
Both competitive and commercial initiatives, according to Saito, are going in parallel, but the learned information is tightly overlapping. “Our aim is to commercialize (hydrogen combustion technology), and we’re making good progress toward that goal.”
observable change
We first learned about Toyota’s initiative to use hydrogen as a fuel in internal combustion engines a year ago, and the Japanese automaker announced its development on the sidelines of the 2022 Fuji 24 Hours race.
In short, the Corolla No. 32 racing had its range grow by almost 20% in a year, while the power and torque of its 1.6-liter three-cylinder turbo increased by roughly 20% to 30%, respectively.
Refueling time, on the other hand, was decreased from over five minutes to one and a half minutes.
Instead of gas, liquid hydrogen is used
The new innovations don’t stop there, with Toyota revealing for the first time that it is “pursuing” liquid hydrogen technology rather than gaseous hydrogen, which may substantially reduce the capacity occupied by hydrogen tanks.
So far, liquid hydrogen has only been used in space rockets, but Toyota intends to get a liquid hydrogen-powered Corolla H2 on the road later this year.
The benefits are obvious, since liquid hydrogen has a larger energy density than gaseous hydrogen, potentially doubling the range of the race Corolla and bringing it closer to that of a gasoline comparable vehicle.
A press conference was conducted prior to the 24 Hours of Fuji, which was attended by Akio Toyoda, President of Toyota, where we could view the progress made in the previous year as well as new advances.
achieving carbon neutrality
Several Japanese industries are pushing alternate technologies rather than relying solely on electric technology to attain carbon neutrality. They’re putting them through their paces on the harshest of test tracks: racetracks.
Toyota and Subaru are racing a GR86 and a BRZ using carbon-neutral fuels, in addition to Toyota’s attempts to utilize hydrogen as a fuel in internal combustion engines, as demonstrated by the Corolla Cross H2 Concept.
Mazda, on the other hand, is now marketing a Mazda2 with a diesel engine that runs on next-generation biodiesel.
