UCI welcomes a glimpse into the future

Deirdre Newman

The whooshing sound heard on campus Monday signaled the start of a

revolution in the automotive industry.

Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc. introduced a hydrogen fuel-cell,

electric-hybrid vehicle -- an automobile that generates more noise

being filled up with compressed hydrogen than starting its ignition.

The Toyota Fuel Cell Hybrid Vehicle, based on the Highlander

mid-sized SUV model, produces electricity by splitting hydrogen

molecules.

UCI provided the venue for the launch of the futuristic vehicle

because Toyota selected the university’s National Fuel Cell Research

Center to provide a smooth transition for the vehicle’s entrance into

the commercial market as well as to help develop a fueling

infrastructure in Orange County.

The technology, if successful commercially, can significantly

reduce air pollution since it only emits water vapor -- music to the

ears of UCI Chancellor Ralph Cicerone, who spent his academic career

identifying and quantifying environmental problems.

“I’m really pleased to witness a solution,” Cicerone said.

The current prototype is designed to travel at speeds of up to 96

mph and over a range of 180 miles. The range is expected to increase

to 300 miles within the next decade. While it uses hydrogen for fuel,

it is able to conserve energy in motion through a battery pack and

regenerative brakes.

Toyota began developing hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles 10 years ago

in Japan. The vehicles have passed 18 months of testing in Japan and

California. The company is launching the vehicles now -- one will

also be used by UC Davis -- because the technology has advanced to

the point where the vehicles are functional and safe, said Norihiko

Nakamura, who is in charge of fuel-cell development at Toyota in

Japan.

For the past five years, UCI’s National Fuel Cell Research Center

has had a relationship with Toyota to explore

environmentally-sensitive vehicles. The research center will now

oversee how the hydrogen-powered vehicle is used on a daily basis and

then decide where the most appropriate locations for the refueling

stations are. Newport Beach and Huntington Beach are potential

candidates for the stations, said Scott Samuelsen, center director.

The center will also help develop the information technology that

will enable the vehicles to locate the refueling stations and compare

costs between them, helping the driver make a more informed decision.

Samuelsen said he is impressed that automotive companies are

taking the lead in developing and implementing this new technology

instead of waiting until it is forced upon them.

“The fact that the manufacturer is taking leadership on its own

means that they’re foreseeing the business opportunity and the

regulations that will ultimately require them [to act],” Samuelsen

said.

UCI and UC Davis are each leasing their vehicles for $10,000 per

month for 30 months and will receive two more hydrogen-fuel cell

vehicles next year. Private funding will pay for the leases. The

eventual goal is that the two UC fuel-cell communities will inspire

others and create a statewide network, said Jim Press, Toyota USA’s

chief operating officer.

The vehicles are expected to be mass produced for commercial sales

in about 10 years.

UCI students, who stopped to admire the vehicle as it went for a

test drive outside the Administration Building and then refueled at a

mobile station, watched it in awe.

“It’s a great step for automobiles,” said Rory Roberts, 24.

* DEIRDRE NEWMAN covers education. She may be reached at (949)

574-4221 or by e-mail at deirdre.newman@latimes.com.