UMW Toyota utilises the Mirai to showcase the viability of hydrogen in Malaysia’s sustainable energy portfolio.
While EVs are all the rage these days, it is worth highlighting that batteries are not the only way to power them electric motors. Such is as Toyota wishes to reiterate once again, a hydrogen fuel cell could potentially be another path towards cleaning up the auto industry too.
And thus at least speaking locally for now, following on from its ‘Beyond Zero’ showcase held last month, UMW Toyota has recently taken one step further towards previewing a potential hydrogen future in Malaysia by demonstrating its Mirai hydrogen fuel cell vehicle to the Malaysian Prime Minister YAB Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim, as well as YB Chang Lih Kang, Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation (MOSTI).
Representing UMW Toyota at the demonstration event, Datuk Ravindran K., President of UMW Toyota, stated, “As a mobility company focused on advancing sustainable transportation solutions, UMW Toyota is thrilled to play a part in this effort. This initiative strengthens our commitment to a multi-pathways approach to achieving carbon neutrality, aligning with Malaysia’s ambitious goal of becoming a carbon-neutral nation by 2050. Through this collaboration, we are excited to showcase the technological strengths of the Toyota Mirai. Using fuel cell technology, the Mirai combines hydrogen with the air to generate its own electricity, emitting nothing but water.”
With a name meaning ‘future’ in Japanese, the Mirai was used as a representation of the potential and viability of hydrogen as a key component of Malaysia’s diverse and sustainable energy portfolio. This initiative aligns with the National Energy Transition Roadmap (NETR) and HETR’s strategic objectives, illustrating UMW Toyota’s dedication to fostering a competitive hydrogen ecosystem and contributing towards the nation’s carbon neutrality ambitions.
UMW Toyota further touts for this public-private joint effort to signal a step towards reducing carbon emissions and positions Malaysia as a regional leader in embracing cutting-edge and environmentally conscious technologies. It serves as a symbolic gesture towards promoting the adoption of hydrogen-powered vehicles, which has the potential to significantly reduce carbon emissions in the transportation sector when widely adopted. This collaboration reflects the commitment of both public and private efforts to drive positive change and usher in a cleaner and greener future.
Interestingly enough, our current prime minister is not to be the first Malaysian official to experience the Mirai first hand. This is as the current official ride of the Sarawak Premier is to also be one of these hydrogen fuel cell cars, with UMW Toyota having handed over 4 units of large zero-emissions sedan to the Sarawak Economic Development Corporation (SEDC) Energy early last year.
Now just for those unfamiliar too, Toyota has actually been a major player in the hydrogen transportation sector since the development its first hydrogen FCEV back in 1992. Saying that, it took a staggering 22 years before the first generation Mirai made its debut in Europe and North America in 2014.
As for this second generation Mirai that debut back in 2020 meanwhile, squeezed within its large sedan body is 5.6 kg of compressed hydrogen spread across three tanks, which is good for a decently substantial claimed 850 km of range. Similarly decent too was to be its performance, with this sleek sedan sending 180 hp and 300 Nm to its rear wheels, which in turn translates to a claimed 9.6 second time to 100 km/h.
More impressively however in terms of tech specs is that the Mirai one of the few cars in the world that hooning it around the hills is actually good for the environment. This is not only because the sole tailpipe emission from this joyride will be water, but more so because the Mirai also features a catalyst-type filter within the air intake that ‘effectively cleans the air as it moves’. So if we take Toyota’s word for it, the Mirai is actually a ‘negative emissions’ car.
