Toyota to test liquid hydrogen car in 2023 endurance races

Toyota Motor Corp plans to enter a liquid hydrogen-powered car in the 2023 endurance race events to make environmentally-friendly vehicles commercially viable.

On top of developing electric vehicles to achieve carbon-neutral targets, Toyota has also invested in other technologies, including hydrogen-powered automobiles,

The endurance races would help Toyota improve hydrogen-powered technology's functionality and address some challenges, like how to keep hydrogen liquid at minus 253 C.

Using hydrogen in liquid form instead of its gaseous state would double a car's mileage and allow for smaller hydrogen fueling stations. Liquid hydrogen engines must burn the element as gas after converting it from a liquid.

In September 2022, the company set up a team of about 30 specialists to work toward developing a commercially viable vehicle powered by a hydrogen engine, which produces almost no carbon dioxide when operating.

Among the issues it is tasked with addressing is ensuring the vehicle can operate at below-freezing temperatures.

In May 2021, Toyota started fielding cars equipped with a hydrogen-powered combustion engine into competitions at the 24-hour race at Fuji International Speedway in Shizuoka Prefecture.

The carmaker's liquid hydrogen car began test runs at the end of October.