Toyota sells its first Mirai fuel cell sedan in Belgium

Hydrogenics Corporation, a leading developer and manufacturer of hydrogen generation technology and hydrogen fuel cell power modules, has become the first customer in Belgium to take ownership of the Toyota Mirai.

The Mirai, which means ‘Future’ in Japanese, is the world’s first fuel cell sedan. The electricity that powers the car is created in the fuel cell stack where the oxygen from the air reacts with the hydrogen from the tank leaving no tailpipe emissions other than water vapour.

The zero emission Mirai has a driving range of up to 550km that can be refueled in 3 to 5 minutes. Toyota started commercialising the Mirai in 2015 and to date has delivered cars in Japan, California, Germany, UK and Denmark. It is now continuing its Mirai roll-out in Belgium, following the opening of the first public hydrogen refueling station in the country in April 2016.

After receiving the keys of the Toyota Mirai, Filip Smeets, managing director of Hydrogenics Belgium, said, ”As a pioneering company in the field of renewable hydrogen, we are delighted to be the first customer of the Toyota Mirai in Belgium. We are convinced that hydrogen mobility will become the most attractive green mobility option, thanks to an extended driving range and short refueling time. We are now actively preparing the hydrogen refueling infrastructure to ensure people can easily refuel their hydrogen cars in Belgium and all across Europe. We aim to inspire others to also take actions to help mitigate the impact of climate change.

The Flemish government has confirmed its support to open 20 public hydrogen refueling stations in Flanders by 2020, which would be sufficient to offer a hydrogen refueling station to everyone in Flanders within a radius of 25 kilometres. Like battery electric cars, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are exempt from registration fees and traffic tax in Flanders.

Bart Tommelein, vice-minister-president of the Flemish government, Flemish Minister for Budget, Finance and Energy, said at this occasion: “Green vehicles are the future. Helping to bring a solution to particulate pollution and contributing to a better air quality for us, our children and grandchildren, fuel cell cars have a mayor role to play. The main advantage is that they do no emit emissions other than water vapour. This makes them more environmentally friendly than cars on petrol or diesel. That is why we stimulate the purchase of green cars within the Flemish Government. The handover of the Mirai, Toyota’s first fuel cell car, to Hydrogenics is another step forward in greening the car fleet in our country.”