The 2024 ENEOS Super Taikyu Series Empowered by BRIDGESTONE held its final round at Fuji Speedway (Oyama, Shizuoka) on November 16 and 17.
In the runup to the race in late October, Yuta Tomikawa headed not to the circuit but to a hydrogen filling station in Aichi Prefecture. There, he found ROOKIE Racing’s Car No. 32, a Corolla with an engine that runs on liquid hydrogen.
It was there for a proof of concept for liquid hydrogen refueling outside the circuit.
While hydrogen filling stations normally supply hydrogen gas to fuel cell vehicles (FCEVs), the hydrogen is stored in liquid form. The goal of this demonstration was to make it possible to refuel both gaseous and liquid hydrogen at existing filling stations in anticipation of the actual use of liquid hydrogen-powered vehicles in the future.
Liquid hydrogen refueling has been performed countless times on the circuit. That experience is precisely the reason why our development partners at Iwatani Corporation are confident they can make refueling with liquid hydrogen a reality, even beyond the racetrack.
This special edition of Toyota Times News shows how both vehicles and infrastructure are progressing toward a society that can be powered by hydrogen.