Toyota to debut fuel-cell concept vehicle at CES next year

After it unveiled the FCV fuel cell vehicle in Tokyo this November, Toyota announced that the US debut of the concept vehicle would take place in Las Vegas during the 2014 Consumer Electronics Show (CES).

According to Toyota, the debut of the sedan-based fuel cell concept vehicle would also feature an introduction to the fuel cell ''test mule'', which logged thousands of miles during rigorous quality and durability testing on US roadways.

The company's news conference would be held Monday, 6 January at 1:00 pm at the Mandalay Bay Conference Center.

Toyota is reported to be evaluating whether to include its fuel cell sedan into the Prius family.

The FCV concept, a precursor to a 2015 production version, would be launched around infrastructure in California and other states that followed the state's zero-emission rules.

The prototype FCV uses a fuel cell that converts hydrogen to electricity and was unveiled first at this year's Tokyo Motor Show.

The FCV is the kind of car Toyota hopes to see on the market in 2015. The company has been aiming to produce a car having at least a 500 kilometers range and a refueling time of about three minutes, around the time it took for refueling a gasoline vehicle.

An advantage of a technology of the type was its reliance on a readily available fuel source, hydrogen, and production of only water as a by-product. The process of manufacture of liquid hydrogen fuel uses electricity.

Fuel cell technology was, once a hot topic in the electronics industry and around 10 years ago, as many major electronics companies were prototyping and testing products based on fuel cells as an alternative to batteries.

Typically, a small amount of methanol would provide enough power for hours of use. However, the technology never reached a point where it could become mainstream and many projects closed.

A number of companies, though are still pursuing fuel cells for electronics and emergency power use.

The Ceatec show this year in Tokyo featured Aquafairy, a Japanese start-up that demonstrated a hydrogen fuel cell, that could be in the market in 2014.

According to the company, which displayed several prototypes, it would succeed where others had failed due to its reliance on hydrogen rather than methanol.

In recent years, with cars becoming more high-tech, automakers had also been appearing at CES to unveil new technologies that they hoped would help them define future driving experiences.