 "Mirai, in Japanese, means ‘future.’ Originally launched in 2014, the car is one of the world’s first hydrogen-powered vehicles. The Toyota Mirai's 2024 model is being marketed during the Paris Olympics. Image courtesy: Toyota.com")
Scientists have urged the Paris Olympics to dump the games’ official car.
Over 120 scientists, academics and engineers have come together in an open letter to ask the organisers of the games to stop using the Toyota Mirai as the car of the Olympics.
In the letter, the scientists including from the University of Cambridge, Oxford University and the University of Colorado said using the car ‘damages the reputation of the 2024 games.’
But what do we know about the Mirai? And why is this happening?
Let’s take a closer look:
What do we know about the car?
The Mirai, manufactured by the world’s biggest carmaker, is powered by hydrogen.
Mirai, in Japanese, means ‘future.’
Launched in 2014, the car is one of the world’s first hydrogen-powered vehicles.
As per the Mirai website, it uses a hydrogen fuel cell battery pack.
It works by combining hydrogen with the oxygen outside to create electricity.
According to the US EPA, the top model can go as far as 650 kilometres on a single charge.
The 2024 model has three hydrogen tanks.
It can be refuelled in five minutes.
It releases zero tailpipe emissions other than water.
As per Hydrogen Insight, the Japanese automaker has given the Olympics 500 cars to take officials and Olympians to and from events.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsThe carmaker also offered the authorities 10 hydrogen fuel-cell coaches.
As per CNN, Toyota has also offered the organisers 1,150 Electric Vehicles.
It said it will its cars will be powered by hydrogen from water and organic matter that has been generated through renewable sources.
So, what’s the problem?
Why is this happening?
As per CNN, scientists in the letter said the use of the Mirai undermines the Olympics’ claims of having its ‘greenest-ever’ games.
They pointed out that although the car releases no tailpipe emissions, nearly all of the world’s hydrogen is still made by using methane gas.
They say that means hydrogen-powered cars contribute far more to pollution than battery-powered vehicles.
“…green hydrogen-powered vehicles require 3 times more electricity than battery electric vehicles for equivalent duty. They therefore require 3 times more renewable electricity generating capacity and they generate 3 times higher well-to-wheel CO2 emissions,” professor David Cebon of the University of Cambridge wrote in the letter as per Bezinga.
Scientists said hydrogen-powered cars are only slightly better for the environment than regular combustion-engine vehicles.
They added that any making claims that the public buying hydrogen cars will help in the fight against climate change is simply wrong.
“The Paris Olympics are being used by Toyota to promote hydrogen cars, buses and other hydrogen vehicles as a solution to climate change. This is scientifically misaligned with net-zero,” Cebon, director of Cambridge University’s Centre for Sustainable Road Freight, told Hydrogen Insight.
The carmaker is offering the 2024 version of the Mirai at nearly half of its price.
“We think that Toyota’s promoting hydrogen vehicles in this way is highly detrimental to international efforts to decarbonise transport, because billions of people around the world who watch the Olympics will be exposed to false and misleading information.”
“It is now internationally accepted in industry and academia that electrification of vehicles is the most effective intervention to decarbonising the transport sector.”
“Toyota’s promotion of a hydrogen car… will damage the reputation of the 2024 Games,” the letter added.
They pointed out several other drawbacks of hydrogen cars including
Distracting and delaying from “the real solution” of EVs
Renewable energy could be put to better use
The promotion of hydrogen cars at a high-profile event would delay roll out of EVs
It would thus “damaging the progress of the energy transition”
Scientists want the Mirai replaced as the official car of the Olympics with a battery-powered EV.
“Opportunity remains to reroute, and we urge that you require Toyota to replace the Mirai with a Battery Electric Vehicle as the official Games vehicle,” they wrote as per CNN.
‘Hydrogen silly for cars’
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has also jumped into the debate.
Musk, the richest man in the world and the owner of the social media platform X, said using Hydrogen for cars makes no sense.
“Hydrogen is silly for cars and only barely sensible for rockets, where payload is ~1000 times more valuable,” Musk wrote on X.
This isn’t the first time Musk has made such a statement.
Musk in March 2022 said using hydrogen as a fuel source is “the most dumb thing I could possibly imagine for energy storage.”
“Fuel cells should be called fool sells! Such a silly choice for cars. Not great even for a rocket upper stage imo, but at least not absurd,” Musk wrote in March 2021.
But Toyota remains unmoved.
The carmaker told CNN, “The mix of different vehicle technologies in the (Olympics’) fleet reflects Toyota’s global multi-path strategy that the right solution is needed for differing situations to decarbonise transportation dependent on diverse energy availability, infrastructure and customers’ needs.”
With inputs from agencies