CSIRO first to lease Toyota Mirai FCEV
Government scientific body takes delivery of Toyota Australia’s first hydrogen fuel-cell vehicleThe CSIRO has become the first customer to lease the Toyota Mirai in Australia as part of a new partnership that aims to “demonstrate the viability of fuel-cell vehicles” Down Under.
Like the Hyundai NEXO, the first 20 examples of which were delivered to the ACT government in March, the second generation of Toyota’s pioneering hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicle (FCEV) is currently only available for lease in Australia.
However, unlike Hyundai, which says it will sell the NEXO to private customers from the second half of this year, Toyota only expects to offer its first FCEV to individuals within three years.
For now, the Mirai can only be loaned by business and government partners via a three-year lease program that costs more than $63,000 over three years, including a $1750 monthly fee and scheduled servicing.
A total of 20 Toyota Mirai FCEVs are being imported for lease, the first of which will be used for testing at CSIRO’s test hydrogen refuelling facility in Victoria, which is currently being developed.
A lack of hydrogen refuelling infrastructure has been the biggest challenge to introducing vehicles like Mirai, according to Toyota Australia’s Manager of Future Technologies and Mobility, Matt Macleod.
“However, that is slowly changing with the commissioning of our own commercial grade hydrogen production and refuelling facility at the Toyota Centre of Excellence at Altona in March, and the CSIRO’s own plans to build a small-scale hydrogen refueller,” he said.
“By working with the CSIRO and other like-minded business, industry and government partners, we can demonstrate that FCEVs can play a significant role in helping to reduce our carbon footprint and secure a sustainable future for a range of transport and energy requirements.”
CSIRO chief executive Dr Larry Marshall said Australia can become a renewable energy leader through the production, use and export of hydrogen – something it’s working towards with its newly-launched Hydrogen Industry Mission.
“But it will only become a reality if we breakthrough the $2/kg barrier. That needs Australia's world class science working with CSIRO's commercialisation expertise turning breakthrough science into real-world solutions," he said.
Related: Toyota Mirai 2021 Review
Related: Toyota to sell fuel-cell cars within three years
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