A group of scientists, academics and engineers wants organisers of the Paris Olympic Games to replace the hydrogen-powered Toyota Mirai with an electric car as the event’s official vehicle.
An open letter from 120 signatories said Toyota’s promotion of a hydrogen car is “scientifically misaligned with net-zero and will damage the reputation of the 2024 Games”. The group wants to have the Mirai replaced with a battery electric vehicle (BEV) as the official Games vehicle, saying it is more environmentally friendly.
“The IPCC [Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change] is clear that BEVs represent the most effective way to decarbonise passenger transport. Hydrogen used to power road transport is not aligned with the world’s net-zero goals and ultimately risks distracting and delaying from the real solutions we have available today,” the letter reads.
The Toyota Mirai is equipped with a fuel cell that converts hydrogen stored in tanks to power its electric motors, and emits only water vapour. However, the letter states green hydrogen powered fuel-cell vehicles require three times more renewable electricity than equivalent BEVs.
“As a result, they require three times more renewable electricity-generating infrastructure such as wind turbines and solar panels, and are at least three times more expensive to run than BEVs.”
The letter said 99% of hydrogen is made from fossil fuels without carbon capture and storage, and consequently the global hydrogen market emits approximately the same emissions as the global aviation industry.
“It is essential these emissions generated by hydrogen manufacture are cleaned up before introducing new end uses for hydrogen.”
The signatories said hydrogen cars are not a viable net-zero solution and because of the high cost and poor availability of fuel, sales of hydrogen cars are in rapid global decline. There are approximately 1,000 times more BEVs than hydrogen vehicles in the world, with consumers overwhelmingly choosing BEVs as a more compelling option, they said.
The Paris Olympics organisers aim to host the greenest Games in history by significantly reducing the carbon footprint of the event, which takes place from July 26 to August 11, and will attempt to run the Games entirely on renewable energy.
Unlike most car manufacturers gearing up for an all-electric future, Toyota is promoting a “multi-path strategy” with EVs, hybrid, plug-in hybrids and hydrogen-powered vehicles to reduce carbon pollution. Cars and vans account for around 10% of global CO2 emissions.
A handful of carmakers including Toyota, BMW, Hyundai and Honda are working on hydrogen fuel cell cars, which combine the advantages of electric driving with the possibility to refuel as quickly as combustion engine vehicles.
Hydrogen is best suited to longer-distance travel and larger vehicles such as trucks and buses. In South Africa, a partnership between Sasol, Toyota SA and Air Products SA was announced in 2023 as a proof-of-concept initiative to promote the use of hydrogen as a fuel of the future.
In February BMW rolled out a pilot fleet of iX5 Hydrogen fuel vehicles in South Africa, partnering with Anglo American Platinum and Sasol to gain insight into the operation of hydrogen cars and customer experience.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.