Toyota's liquid hydrogen-fueled Corolla took on the Fuji 24-hour race for its third year. The car is moving ever closer to commercialization.
Toward commercialization 2: New valve for faster, safer, simpler refueling
One of the big challenges in bringing hydrogen vehicles to market is developing the underlying infrastructure.
In the domain of refueling liquid hydrogen, a new valve jointly developed with Iwatani Corporation has shown considerable potential.
“The structure is simpler, lighter, and refuels faster,” says Ito. “Though it may not look impressive structurally, I think the changes are groundbreaking.”
In the previous configuration, to refuel liquid hydrogen, the valve was opened and closed via an actuator outside the vehicle. This not only limited how much the flow path could be expanded but also created issues with sealing.
By contrast, the new refueling valve uses an internal piston structure.
This enlarges the flow path area, boosting refueling speed by around 30%.
Getting rid of the external actuator reduced overall weight by some 2 kg. At the same time, it also eliminated the task of opening and closing the valve, improving sealing and reducing the risk of hydrogen leaks.
