Toyota tips money into hydrogen-powered boat project
Bid to build the world’s first hydrogen-powered yacht to circumnavigate the world shows commercial applicationsToyota has become a shareholder in the company that it is helping to develop a hydrogen-powered powertrain for marine applications, the company has announced.
Toyota Motor Europe, which in 2017 teamed up with the Energy Observer project to help build a renewable energy catamaran that aims to circumnavigate the world, has now become a direct shareholder in the project.
The Energy Observer catamaran has adopted technology created for the Toyota Mirai fuel cell vehicle, and adapted it to drive a boat.
Just like the car, the boat feeds hydrogen fuel into a fuel cell, which mixes with atmospheric oxygen to create electricity and water. The electricity is used to feed a bank of batteries that in turn are used to power an electric motor.
The boat converts seawater into the hydrogen fuel it needs to power itself.
“In early 2020, Energy Observer Developments and TME Fuel Cell Business integrated Toyota’s leading fuel cell technology in the Energy Observer boat, ahead of its Atlantic and Pacific Ocean crossings,” it said in a statement announcing the deal
“This marked Toyota’s expansion into a new business area where it has become a fuel cell technology supplier and integrator.”
The partnership has spawned the REXH2 marine hydrogen power module, as well as the GEH2 stationary generator that uses hydrogen to produce up to 100KVA of electricity.
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