Toyota accelerating clean combustion! Corolla Cross H2 Concept powered by GR turbo triple with zero CO2 emissions

When your corporate pockets are as deep as Toyota’s you can afford to explore multiple paths towards carbon neutrality.

And the Corolla Cross H2 Concept is the Japanese giant’s latest development in the use of hydrogen to power internal combustion engines with zero tailpipe emissions.

Toyota has been running a hydrogen-powered, combustion-engined Corolla in the Japanese Super Taikyu Series, open to close to production-spec domestic market models, currently including the Fuji 24 Hours endurance event.

Read More About Toyota Corolla Cross

'Electric cars aren't the only future': BMW boss says hydrogen is here to stay alongside EVs - report Why hydrogen is more important to Hyundai N than you might think We're back! The Australian hydrogen H2X Warrego ute goes into final testing before release into the wild!

This year, Toyota President, Akio Toyoda competed under his ‘master driver’ pseudonym ‘Morizo’ in a GR Corolla H2 giving special impetus to accelerated development of the technology.

In fact, Toyota claims over the course of one Super Taikyu season it has been able to increase hydrogen combustion power by 24 per cent and torque by 33 per cent, achieving dynamic performance on par with a conventional petrol engine.

GAZOO Racing president, Koji Sato said Toyota is 40 per cent along the path to commercialisation.

“We will pursue two goals moving forward: one is for commercial vehicle use and the other for passenger vehicles,” he said.

And the Corolla Cross H2 is the company’s first take on a prototype road car, fitted with a modified version of the GR Corolla’s 1.6-litre, three-cylinder turbocharged engine using high-pressure hydrogen direct injection tech.

According to Sato-san, securing rear-seat space is a significant factor in packaging of a hydrogen combustion passenger vehicle for mass production.

The Corolla Cross H2 uses a modified version of the GR Corolla's 1.6-litre, three-cylinder turbo engine.

Four tanks sit where rear seats would otherwise be in the racing hydrogen-powered Corolla, but the Corolla Cross H2 Concept features two tanks mounted below the floor and a conventional rear seat.

A key part of that move reflects the potential shift from gaseous to liquid hydrogen tanks.

Gaseous hydrogen has to be filled under high pressure which requires cylindrical tanks, while the density of liquid hydrogen enables the use of smaller, lighter tanks able to be made in more flexible shapes.

Toyota notes hydrogen’s advantages as a zero CO2 combustion fuel, including quick refuelling time and a reduced need for rare earth elements used in batteries, such as lithium and nickel.

Hydrogen combustion development will continue in parallel with Toyota’s hydrogen fuel cell program.

But at the same time the company acknowledges current challenges in filling and storage, including the need to maintain hydrogen at a temperature lower than -253 degrees Celsius! 

As Mr Sato said: “We still have not decided on mass production, but only when we pursue it can we see issues to solve.

“The current package may actually be viable enough in racing, but there’s much more to be explored because we aim for market introduction,” he said.

Hydrogen combustion development will continue in parallel with Toyota’s hydrogen fuel cell program, currently focused on the Mirai, as well as battery electric and petrol-electric hybrid production.