Staff Report
Dubai: Coming on the heels of the inauguration of the first hydrogen station that enables the usage of Toyota Mirai, Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEVs) in the UAE. Al-Futtaim Motors, showcased its latest hydrogen-based zero emissions technology, at the 2017 Water, Energy, Technology, and Environment Exhibition (WETEX) through a display of the first Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle in the country.
Running on hydrogen that converts into electricity inside the Mirai’s fuel cell stack, the car
delivers a performance that competes with traditional petrol engine cars while emitting nothing but water vapor from the tailpipe.
It does not require external electric charging which can be refilled with hydrogen in less than 5 minutes and is able to travel up to 500 km on a full tank. In the onboard Fuel Cell Stack, hydrogen combines with oxygen in the air to generate electricity that powers the vehicle’s electric motor.
“Unlike battery-powered cars, FCEVs can run for long mileage and can be refilled fairly quickly, in a way that does not compromise the driver’s behavior in any way. Once deployed on a larger scale, the Fuel Cell Electric technology has the potential to significantly reduce the UAE’s dependence on oil and dramatically lower car-generated pollution levels,” says Saud Abbasi, Managing Director of Toyota at Al-Futtaim Motors.
Al-Futtaim Motors, in collaboration with Air Liquide, one of the most established suppliers of
hydrogen stations in the world, had jointly inaugurated the UAE’s first hydrogen station in
Dubai Festival City earlier in October, to facilitate the usage of Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles.
This development came following the announcement made at the Abu Dhabi Sustainability
Week earlier this year where Toyota’s Chairman, Takeshi Uchiyamada, launched a collaborative study about the feasibility of establishing a hydrogen-based society in the UAE, aiming at drastically lowering CO2 emissions, in line with the UAE Vision 2021.