Toyota Repeats Support of Fuel Cell Technology as U.S. Plans to Cut Funding
We expect a lot of blogger activity today on this morning's "announcement" from Toyota that it hopes to roll out an updated fuel cell car by 2015, even though it isn't news.
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Toyota has several Highlander SUVs outfitted with fuel-cell electric drivetrains in testing now.
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Toyota first made that promise five months ago at the Detroit auto show.
The real import of today's announcement at the company's annual shareholder meeting is that it comes just two days before Congress begins considering an Energy Department budget that would eliminate federal funding for automotive fuel cell research and development in the U.S.
So while Toyota - and Honda and South Korea's Hyundai and Germany's Daimler and Volkswagen - all continue pursing development of their fuel cell vehicles, doubtlessly with support from their governments, the Obama Administration wants to give up on the technology. That would leave Ford, GM and Chrysler to go it alone or drop their hydrogen fuel cell development programs after sending billions on them over the past decade.
Energy Secretary Steven Chu says he eliminated $100 million in previous budgets' funding for automotive-related hydrogen research because he and his advisers don't see an immediate return - that it will be a decade or more before there's sufficient hydrogen fueling infrastructure to make the vehicles viable.
The DOE instead will pursue funding development of plug-in electric cars.
We're all for battery-electric and plug-in hybrid cars and trucks, but we think the decision this early in the game to bet the farm on them while ruling out hydrogen fuel cells is short-sighted.
Toyota's reiteration of its commitment to the technology, and Honda's repeated comments that the future will be one in which a number of alternative fuels and powertrains are in play, ought to be seen as a warning sign.
It will be interesting, if Congress acquiesces now and allows the tap for hydrogen fuel cell research funding to be shut off, to listen to the criticism that will be heaped on U.S. automakers a decade or so from now when it becomes apparent that Japan has corned the market on the technology and we're once again left to play catch-up.
John O'Dell, Senior Editor
- Posted by
- John O'Dell June 23, 2009, 10:25 AM
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- Categories:
- Alternative Fuels, Fuel Cell, Hybrid, Hydrogen, Plug-ins and Electric, Toyota
- Technorati Tags:
- Fuel Cell Cars, Hydrogen Fuel Cells, Toyota
That's a shame that government support is being cut because they don't foresee an immediate ROI, but it's good to see there is still private support.
John, just step back and look at all the viable technologies out there today that weren't around even ten years ago. Natural gas vehicles. Hydrogen burning vehicles. Fuel cells. Low emission diesels. 100% electric/battery. Even modern gasoline engines (look at the mpg of 300 hp cars today.. about the same as that of 200 hp cars a decade ago). This truly is an automotive golden age.