A Toyota Mirai has covered more than 1,000 kilometres on a single tank of fuel, surpassing previous long-distance achievements for a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle. 

The journey, undertaken in France during Paris de l’hydrogène – an exhibition on hydrogen and renewable energies – started in Orly and covered 1,003 kilometres of public roads in the Loir-et-Cher and Indre-et-Loire areas, with the distance and fuel consumption certified by an independent authority. 

Green hydrogen was used to fuel the Mirai and overall consumption was measured at 0.55 kg/100km.  Upon completing the challenge, the Mirai was refuelled within five minutes. 

Frank Marotte, CEO of Toyota France, said: “It’s an amazing result that we achieved with the new Mirai. One that embodies the mindset of Toyota’s Start your Impossible mentality of going beyond our own limits. This drives us and we proved it again today. I would like to thank the teams of Toyota France and Toyota Europe, as well as Victorien at Energy Observer, with whom we share the same vision and the same ambition. It is through strong partnerships that we will be able to contribute to a better and more environmentally friendly society.”

Four drivers completed the drive, including Victorien Erussard, the founder and captain of Energy Observer – a self-sufficient, zero-emission boat that uses a Toyota fuel cell stack.

Victorien Erussad, founder and captain of Energy Observer, was excited by the scale of the challenge: “I am very happy to have taken this challenge of 1,000 kilometres behind the wheel of the new Mirai. Toyota has always been at the forefront of hydrogen innovation and our collaboration gets stronger year on year. As a former open ocean racer, I need to take challenges and I warmly thank Frank Marotte and his teams for taking me on this zero-emission adventure, showing that nothing is impossible and that hydrogen mobility is here today!”

James Olden, an engineer at Toyota Motor Europe, Maxime le Hir, Mirai product manager and Marie Gadd, PR manager of Toyota France were the other three drivers who completed the drive.

Second-gen Mirai does everything better
The new Mirai is the second-generation fuel cell electric vehicle from Toyota. It offers enhanced driving performance, better fuel efficiency, a 30 percent greater range and a price tag almost 25 percent lower than its predecessor. 

The increased efficiency of the fuel cell system, coupled with a 1 kg increase in hydrogen capacity gives the Mirai a certified range of approximately 650 kilometres (400 miles), under normal driving conditions.  While the 1,000-kilometre mark was broken by Toyota’s drivers adopting an economical driving style, no techniques were used that could not be replicated in everyday driving.