Spinning off yet another variation on the clean-energy theme, Toyota plans to display a CNG-hybrid version of its Camry family sedan at the Los Angeles show in November. Using compressed natural gas (CNG) instead of gasoline to fuel the engine, said Irv Miller, group vice president for corporate communications, highlights the fuel’s growing emergence as a domestic energy source in abundant supply.
Development of a CNG infrastructure, Miller noted, is ahead of that for hydrogen, with 1.8 million miles of pipeline in the United States. The supply also is readily available, not dependent on imports or development of new refining methods.
The announcement was made during the company’s Sustainable Mobility Seminar in Portland, Ore., where several speakers noted challenges facing the development of biofuels and an infrastructure to support hydrogen fuel cells.
CNG refueling stations are still rare--there are about 1,000 nationwide, and less than half are open to the public--but still far more abundant than those for hydrogen. About 1,200 stations pump E85 ethanol today. Of the 10 or so hydrogen refilling stations in the country, none could adequately recharge the pair of fuel-cell hybrids that Toyota demonstrated at the seminar. The cars require hydrogen compressed to 10,000 psi, but no source was available to refill the tanks at full compression.
Seminar organizers even found it difficult in green-friendly Portland to find electrical recharging stations for the trio of prototype plug-in-hybrid Prius cars being used to demonstrate that technology. Toyota plans to introduce a plug-in version of the Prius for fleet sales (not to individuals) in late 2009. It had to recharge its cars at the local power company when other potential sites proved unsuitable.
All alternatives to traditional gasoline-fueled cars face infrastructure challenges, whether it’s the availability of the fuel at the pump (as with both biofuels and CNG) or charging stations. Even among private customers who might be interested in plug-in hybrids or full-electric cars, many lack access to a garage or to an electrical outlet in that garage space, seminar speakers noted.
Toyota built a CNG-fueled Camry in 1999 but had trouble finding consumer interest in an era of low gasoline prices, a challenge also noted by Honda, which has built CNG-powered Civics for many years. Fleets have been the primary customers, often those owned by companies that distribute natural gas for home heating and other uses.
But neither of those earlier CNG vehicles had a hybrid drive. Combining the CNG technology with hybrid-electric drive may expand the appeal of both alternative systems.
Miller said that a recent rapid expansion of CNG availability and recognition of the nation’s ample supplies could be a model for growth of a hydrogen infrastructure in the future.
Also at the seminar, Toyota announced a price cut for replacement battery packs for its Prius hybrids. Built in a joint venture with Panasonic, the replacement battery for the first-generation Prius costs $2,299; for the second-generation model, the cost is $2,588. The replacement nickel-metal-hydride batteries previously cost $2,985 for either variety. There are more than 600,000 of the hybrids on the road. Prices are for replacements after the warranty expires. The original-equipment batteries carry a 10-year/150,000-mile warranty in California-compliant states and an eight-year/80,000-mile warranty elsewhere.
Development of a CNG infrastructure, Miller noted, is ahead of that for hydrogen, with 1.8 million miles of pipeline in the United States. The supply also is readily available, not dependent on imports or development of new refining methods.
The announcement was made during the company’s Sustainable Mobility Seminar in Portland, Ore., where several speakers noted challenges facing the development of biofuels and an infrastructure to support hydrogen fuel cells.
CNG refueling stations are still rare--there are about 1,000 nationwide, and less than half are open to the public--but still far more abundant than those for hydrogen. About 1,200 stations pump E85 ethanol today. Of the 10 or so hydrogen refilling stations in the country, none could adequately recharge the pair of fuel-cell hybrids that Toyota demonstrated at the seminar. The cars require hydrogen compressed to 10,000 psi, but no source was available to refill the tanks at full compression.
Seminar organizers even found it difficult in green-friendly Portland to find electrical recharging stations for the trio of prototype plug-in-hybrid Prius cars being used to demonstrate that technology. Toyota plans to introduce a plug-in version of the Prius for fleet sales (not to individuals) in late 2009. It had to recharge its cars at the local power company when other potential sites proved unsuitable.
All alternatives to traditional gasoline-fueled cars face infrastructure challenges, whether it’s the availability of the fuel at the pump (as with both biofuels and CNG) or charging stations. Even among private customers who might be interested in plug-in hybrids or full-electric cars, many lack access to a garage or to an electrical outlet in that garage space, seminar speakers noted.
Toyota built a CNG-fueled Camry in 1999 but had trouble finding consumer interest in an era of low gasoline prices, a challenge also noted by Honda, which has built CNG-powered Civics for many years. Fleets have been the primary customers, often those owned by companies that distribute natural gas for home heating and other uses.
But neither of those earlier CNG vehicles had a hybrid drive. Combining the CNG technology with hybrid-electric drive may expand the appeal of both alternative systems.
Miller said that a recent rapid expansion of CNG availability and recognition of the nation’s ample supplies could be a model for growth of a hydrogen infrastructure in the future.
Also at the seminar, Toyota announced a price cut for replacement battery packs for its Prius hybrids. Built in a joint venture with Panasonic, the replacement battery for the first-generation Prius costs $2,299; for the second-generation model, the cost is $2,588. The replacement nickel-metal-hydride batteries previously cost $2,985 for either variety. There are more than 600,000 of the hybrids on the road. Prices are for replacements after the warranty expires. The original-equipment batteries carry a 10-year/150,000-mile warranty in California-compliant states and an eight-year/80,000-mile warranty elsewhere.
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