Toyota Motor Company authorized Japanese manufacturing company Yamaha Motor to develop a V8 internal combustion engine, powered by hydrogen for cars.
Although this engine uses the same fuel source as Mirai Hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV), it works on internal combustion with hydrogen as fuel instead of relying on chemical reactions in fuel cells to generate energy.
Based on a 5.0 liter naturally aspirated V8 engine are from Lexus RC F coupe, this hydrogen-powered engine produces maximum 335kW power and 540Nm of torque.
This is 16kW less than the equivalent gasoline-powered unit in the RC F, but it produces 10Nm more torque.
Yamaha says it has made modifications to the engine’s injectors, cylinder heads, and intake manifold so that it can be fueled with hydrogen instead of gasoline.
Exclusive to the hydrogen-powered engine only, Yamaha says there’s a “harmonic high-frequency emissions note produced by the engine’s 8-in-1 exhaust.”
The development of this engine stems from an announcement in November 2021, where Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Subaru, Toyota, Mazda and Yamaha Motor jointly announced that they would begin conducting research on alternative fuel sources. for internal combustion engines.
Yamaha Motor President Yoshihiro Hidaka said: “The hydrogen engine has the potential to be carbon neutral while preserving our passion for the internal combustion engine.
Currently, Yamaha Motor is aiming to become completely carbon neutral by 2050.
Yamaha says it started developing hydrogen engines for cars about five years ago.
Takeshi Yamada from the automotive development division of the Research and Development Center’s Research and Development (R&D) Center for Engineering said: “I’m starting to see that engines use hydrogen as a real fuel. the performance characteristics are very interesting and easy to use.
“Hydrogen engines have an innate friendly feel that makes them easy to use even without the need for electronic driver aids.”
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Toyota GR Yaris FULL2 Idea
Toyota revealed a Hydrogen-powered GR Yaris concept immediately following the joint announcement of alternative fuel sources in December 2021.
This GR Yaris concept is powered by a 1.6-liter ‘G16E-GTS’ turbocharged three-cylinder engine, very similar to the petrol engine. GR Yaris but has a modified fuel injection and supply system for a hydrogen fuel source.
It is also the same engine used in the Corolla Sport racing car, which has competed in the Super Taikyu endurance race in Japan since May 2021 in the Toyota Gazoo Racing Rookie Racing framework.
Toyota says the engine technology is “still in the early stages of development and not ready for commercialization.”
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Toyota Corolla Sport racing car runs on hydrogen gas
The Japanese automaker says it will now continue to develop its own hydrogen-powered engines through the prism of sports cars.
Toyota has a strong and long history with Yamaha as it develops engines for the Toyota 2000GT, MR2 and Celica sports cars.
It also developed the iconic 1LF-GUE V10 engine used in the Lexus LFA supercar.
