“Mirai” means “future” in Japanese, and that’s just what Toyota’s latest model represents in the automotive world. The Mirai, Toyota’s hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, will soon be available in the U.S.
Capable of traveling 300 miles on one tank of hydrogen, the Mirai converts hydrogen to electricity and emits only water vapor, no pollutants. This range goes miles beyond the typical capacity of a battery-powered electric vehicle, literally – electric vehicles typically can only go less than one hundred miles between charges.
Best of all, the tank can be refilled in just five minutes. The main challenge for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, however, is the infrastructure to support the technology. Toyota has a plan to fix that, too. The company is currently in the process of promoting and facilitating the construction of hydrogen fueling stations in California, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Rhode Island.
Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda said in a video address, “our fuel cell vehicle runs on hydrogen that can be made from virtually anything, even garbage. It has a fuel cell that creates enough electricity to power a house for about a week.”
There isn’t an official retail price for the Mirai yet, but estimates hover around $60,000. Stay tuned for updates about the Mirai and other Toyota news!
