The 2021 Toyota Mirai, in its second generation and based on Toyota’s premium rear-wheel drive platform, targets a 30-percent increase in range by an improvement in fuel cell system performance and increased hydrogen storage capacity. The Mirai is an electric vehicle, but it never needs to be plugged in to recharge. An FCEV (Fuel-Cell Electric Vehicle) generates its own electricity onboard from hydrogen & oxygen, with water as the only tailpipe emission. A fill-up takes just about five minutes at an SAE-conforming hydrogen fueling station in California or Hawaii (with stations also planned for the Northeast and other areas). The fuel cell is composed of an anode, a cathode, and an electrolyte membrane. Hydrogen is passed through the anode, and oxygen through the cathode. The hydrogen molecules are split into electrons and protons. As protons pass through the electrolyte membrane, electrons travel along a circuit, generating an electric current and heat. At the cathode, the protons, electrons, and oxygen combine to produce water molecules. There are no other byproducts, just pure water. The second-gen Mirai will go on sale in late 2020.
