The human being is, in general, an animal of habit. Changes and transitions generate a state of alarm and mistrust that has helped us survive throughout history. Thanks to this resource we have established ourselves as the owners of a planet that now demands our involvement and empathy. We know the solutions and applying them is a job for each and every one of us, starting with the industry. Toyota has been leading the sustainable mobility transition for decades. With the launch of the Toyota Prius, the first mass-produced hybrid, it showed us that another path was possible and time has proved them right. Now, the Japanese have declared their firm belief in hydrogen as a method of electrifying our vehicles. Again, our alarms go off. Is hydrogen a safe fuel? Will the car’s tanks explode? Is the liquid you release chemical? We answer you about these and other myths about fuel cell vehicles.
Like so many other fuels, hydrogen must meet safety requirements to be taken to the production area. A care that not only falls on the vehicle itself, but also on its logistics, transport, storage and distribution. These hydrogenerators are in charge of offering autonomy to the owners of a Toyota Mirai, a vehicle that shows the way to a responsible and efficient future , with no greater emission than heat and water.
Are the Mirai’s hydrogen reservoirs safe?
In this article we will tell you everything you need about the Toyota Mirai, the result of a project with more than 25 years of work behind it . This car is just the beginning for the Japanese firm, which envisions an emission-free society thanks to this endless element on earth. Toyota knows the reluctance of our society, full of fears and insecurities that soon go down in history as we see the real possibilities. For example, it is very likely that when talking about the fuel cell and the hydrogen tanks installed in the Mirai, you think about the risks of an explosion, and so on with any means of transport that exists.
These tanks have been subjected to the most demanding tests, tests that involve firing by high caliber weapons, impacts, exposures to acid and very high temperatures. The vehicle itself has been reinforced with carbon fiber and, in any crash, it will distribute the force evenly to avoid a greater risk to the tank. In other words, not only the container itself is safe, but the vehicle as a whole as well.
Comparisons are hateful but, in this case, they will help you understand the reason for the myth. Hydrogen has a very high degree of flammability and a much lower risk of explosion than other fuels used, since it becomes reactive between 18.3% and 59% concentration in air . Gasoline, for example, only needs 1% to explode. Furthermore, hydrogen is a gas that rises and disperses, while propane or gasoline vapors accumulate on the ground.
Is refueling safe?
Hydrogen is a very light chemical element that, under normal conditions, is colorless, odorless and does not pollute . In this article we explain the different ways of producing this fuel, a technology that is not harmful to the environment and that is infinite. I explain this to you because you may come to think that the liquid expelled by fuel cell vehicles is toxic. Nothing is further from reality. It is only, and exclusively, water . It is the steam that arises from the production of electricity that ends up condensed and must be emptied.
This security also carries over at the time of storage and refueling. The so-called hydrogenerators have been designed and built under very specific safety parameters . The storage of hydrogen involves a lot of volume and the most used technique for its conservation is in the form of gas. It is stored at very low pressure and is the most economical way to date, along with the liquid state that implies very low temperatures and superior insulation.
Charging time is undoubtedly the weak point of electric vehicles. Fuel cell-powered cars don’t have that problem. Its refueling is carried out in an almost identical way to that of gasoline and diesel , by means of a hose that you connect safely and without leaks. If you want to know more about hydrogen and become masters of the future of mobility, do not hesitate to find out. The DivulgaH2 website offers you an agenda and even a test to see if you have the knowledge you have acquired.
