Toyota's cooking up something new & it's Hydrogen powered

[John S]

A brand new, revolutionary vehicle with direct combustion hydrogen engine similar to petrol/gas ICEs in current cars. It'll be on Japanese roads by 2025. 

[Jericoke]

I've been hearing about hydrogen powered ICE cars since the 90s, and I'm all for it.  Hydrogen still gets a bad rap from the Hindenberg, and certainly it sounds like the biggest issue is hydrogen leaks.  A new car might be safe, but what about an aging car that needs an overhaul from a qualified mechanic? 

The other problem is the roll out of fueling stations.  Even the video talks about how easy/hard it is to generate and store hydrogen gas.  Like the cars, I'm sure brand new units will be safe, but 10 years down the line on mass produced low cost stations?

[cosworth151]

Ford has been working with a hydrogen ICE too:

https://www.motorauthority.com/news/1135361_ford-patents-hydrogen-combustion-engine

I'm glad they are. Battery electrics might be OK for city cars but they would be next to useless out here in the hills.

[rmassart]

I think if they can "perfect" this technology, the use case is not necessarily in cars. For sure long term maintenance would be an issue. Inspections would need to be far more serious and frequent as cars age.

But it could be used in better "controlled" environments, where batteries will struggle to be effective. eg Buses, haulage, boats and most of all planes.