Green hydrogen-based fuel cell electric vehicle Toyota Mirai launched

Context

The government launched a green hydrogen-based advanced fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV), Toyota Mirai. This is the first-of-its-kind project in India that aims to create an ecosystem for such vehicles in the country. 

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• FCEV is powered by hydrogen. It is one of the best zero-emission solutions. 
• It is completely environment-friendly with no tailpipe emissions other than water.

How do fuel cell electric vehicles work?

• Like all-electric vehicles, fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) use electricity to power an electric motor. 
• In contrast to other electric vehicles, FCEVs produce electricity using a fuel cell powered by hydrogen, rather than drawing electricity from only a battery.
• During the vehicle design process, the vehicle manufacturer defines the power of the vehicle by the size of the electric motor(s) that receives electric power from the appropriately sized fuel cell and battery combination. 
• Although automakers could design an FCEV with plug-in capabilities to charge the battery, most FCEVs today use the battery for recapturing braking energy, providing extra power during short acceleration events, and to smooth out the power delivered from the fuel cell with the option to idle or turn off the fuel cell during low power needs.
• The amount of energy stored onboard is determined by the size of the hydrogen fuel tank. 
• This is different from an all-electric vehicle, where the amount of power and energy available are both closely related to the battery's size.