Toyota scales up manufacture of hydrogen vehicle components

The automotive giant expects demand to increase 10-fold after 2020

Toyota is stepping up production of hydrogen car components as it predicts 10-fold growth in fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) sales after 2020.

The automotive giant is building major new factories for fuel cell stack and high-pressure hydrogen tank production at two sites in Japan.

It expects global annual FCEV sales to increase to at least 30,000 units a year after 2020, compared to a current total of 3,000.

The fuel cell stack generates electricity from a reaction between hydrogen and oxygen, powering the car with zero harmful exhaust emissions.

The hydrogen fuel is contained in on-board high-pressure tanks, made of thick carbon fibre and built to withstand major impacts.

Toyota says manufacturing these components at scale is critical to reducing system costs and making FCEVs more widely available.

It claims the new plants, which are expected to go operational in 2020, will also help significantly reduce carbon emissions during production.

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