All language subtitles for Tomorrows.World.Today.S03E03.No.Emissions.Apart.from.Water.720p.WEBRip.x264-KOMPOST_track3_[eng]

Narrator: Welcome to
"tomorrow's world today,"

a show dedicated to
the discovery of innovation

and cutting-edge technology.

We showcase
the latest developments

from the greatest companies and
smartest people in the world.

Tomorrow's ideas are out there.

And through our journey
of inspiration,

we will uncover the technology
of the future.

This is inventionland
world headquarters.

Here now is George davison.

It's is becoming more clear

that zero-emission
hydrogen fuel cells

are what's going to be powering
our cars in the future.

And over the last few years,

Toyota's been heavily involved
in fuel cell development.

They're going to be rolling out
the second-generation version

of their flagship
hydrogen-powered car.

It's called the mirai.

They're also building
hydrogen-powered big rigs

that are in operation
in the port of L.A.

There's even a boat called
the "energy observer"

that's sailing around
the world by a fuel cell.

Also, megawatt generation
stations are being built,

part of the growing
infrastructure

that's begun to spread
throughout California,

and eventually the United States
and the rest of the world.

It's all part of what they're
calling "the hydrogen society,"

a future where fuel cells
power the world

while emitting zero pollution.

I've got to find out
all about that,

so I'm sending in Tamara
to investigate.

She's going to go to L.A.

And uncover what
Toyota's been up to.

Krinsky: I'm here at the Toyota
research and development center

in gardena, California,

where they have been working on
fuel cell technology for years.

If something happens
with the development

of hydrogen technology it
happens inside this building.

Toyota is going to connect us
with some amazing engineers

who are going to break
it all down for us.

Alright, I'm gonna head
inside and get started.

Hey, I'm Tamara.
You must be Chris.

Hey, Tamara. Nice to meet you.

Thank you so much for taking
some time out of your work

to talk to me today and get
me started on my journey.

No, absolutely.
I'm glad to help.

So I have to admit,
I'm kind of amazed that

hydrogen can be used for
a car, a truck, a boat.

It can be used in a lot
of different applications

to replace a lot
of the technology

that we already have today.

Alright. So let's talk
fuel-cell basics.

Can you kind of break
down how it works?

The fuel cell itself is
powered by hydrogen,

which is stored
in a tank in the car,

and then that also takes
oxygen from the air

and then through
a chemical reaction,

produces electricity and water.

Gotcha. Alright.

Thank you so much for
giving me the basics.

Now, I want to see
this baby in action now.

Absolutely. So we arranged
a drive for you with Jackie,

who's one of our
senior engineers.

She's going to take you out
in one of these vehicles

and show you all about it.

Awesome. Thank you so much.
I really appreciate it.

Yeah. Glad to help.

♪♪

Hey, Tamara. It's so good
to finally meet you.

I know. We've had so many
phone conversations.

We have.
But I am glad that you are here,

because I need your help

figuring out how to
drive this thing.

It's so different than anything
I've driven before.

It really is, and I'm so excited

to show you
the 2021 Toyota mirai.

Alright, well, let's
take her for a spin.

Let's do it.

♪♪

Krinsky: Okay, so,
I'm gonna need some

serious newbie lessons from you,

'cause I'm not
really a car person.

I'm a tech person,
but not a car person.

So where do I start?

It's really easy
to get her started.

Just put your foot on the brake
pedal and push the start button.

Okay.

[ Beeps ]

Alright, and then?

[ Laughs ] That's it.

You see that green light
that says "ready?"

Yeah.

That means it's on
and ready to drive.

It's so quiet. It is.

Well, it's an electric vehicle.

That's true.

It really makes me wish
that I had had this

when my daughter was a baby.

[ Both laugh ]

Wouldn't wake anyone
up with this.

Right.

Alright. I'm excited
to get out on the road.

♪♪

Krinsky: Oh, my god, this is,
like, the perfect drive.

Birdsall: It is, right?

The quintessential
California drive

in a zero-emission vehicle.

I think about taking
this car on vacation,

because it has the range
to do so, right?

Yeah, so this
second-generation mirai,

we're targeting over
400 miles of range.

And, you know, the exciting
part of that being,

it takes less than five minutes
to refill at a hydrogen station.

So I'm seeing a lot going on
on the energy monitor.

I'm not used to seeing that,

so can you kind of describe
what's happening here?

Yeah, absolutely.

So a fuel cell electric vehicle
is an electric vehicle,

but instead of plugging
and recharging it,

you refill it with hydrogen.

So the hydrogen comes
in from the tanks.

Birdsall: The oxygen comes
in just from the atmosphere,

from the intake system,

the two combine and form water,

and a by-product of that
is the electricity

that then goes to the electric
motor and drives the vehicle.

Birdsall: The second
generation is --

It's lower, it's wider,
and it's longer.

Is that why it feels
like it's got that nice

"hugging the road" kind
of thing going on?

It does. It does.

And anyone that is
a car enthusiast can

really attest to how much fun a
rear-wheel-drive vehicle is.

When you're talking about
fuel cell electric vehicles,

they're definitely a
part of the picture

of California's goals for
zero emissions in 2030, right?

Absolutely, and they're,
you know, a huge part

of what we call our portfolio
of approach of solutions.

We have our own company goals,

which we call
"environmental challenge 2050,"

where we want to reduce
the co2 emissions of our fleet

by 90 percent compared
to our 2010 co2 emissions.

That's amazing to think about,
because, you know --

I'm driving,
the ocean's on one side,

we've got beautiful,
rolling hills,

and it just makes me think
about the future

and where we're
gonna be, and how that

I want this pristine
environment to survive.

Birdsall: Exactly, and
the only way to get

to this huge reduction in
co2 emissions of the fleet

is to move towards
electrification.

We wanted to, you know,

present to the world with
this second generation

what a sexy, fun,
a sporty fuel cell vehicle

could look like.

So, in the United States,
we produce more than

10 million metric tons of
hydrogen per year, domestically,

and that's the partnership that
we're looking to collaborate

with industrial gas companies,
academia, government,

to build out that
infrastructure, to ensure

that anywhere a customer
wants to drive in mirai,

they have a dispenser
available to them.

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

Oh, wow! Check out the view.

Birdsall: Oh, my gosh,
gorgeous. Perfect, right?

Seriously.

That was so much fun.

I'm so glad you liked it.

You know, you never know
what your experience

is gonna be like when you
drive a different car,

and like, on one hand,
it was so smooth,

but on the other hand, when
we took those corners,

that was nice.

I mean, that's why
it's called the mirai.

"The mirai" in Japanese
means "the future,"

and this is exactly a
depiction of Toyota's future

of electrification
and of driving.

So the next thing I'm
curious about, you know,

you said "mirai" means "future."

So when we talk about vehicles,
we're not just talking about,

you know, your everyday
passenger vehicle.

We're also talking
about trucks, right?

That's right.

Another advantage of fuel cells
is that they're scalable,

which means that they can be
small enough to power a phone

or large enough to
power a building,

or anything in between.

You just have to add more
fuel cells to the stack

to create as much
power as you need,

and as long as
you're supplying hydrogen,

you can generate as
much power as needed.

So what we did back in 2017 is,

we took two of the mirai
fuel cell systems,

we put them into a class 8 semi,
and we demonstrated

that we can generate enough
all-electric power

to move 80,000 pounds

around the ports of Los Angeles
and long beach.

And that's what we're doing now.

We're building 10 more trucks
to demonstrate that

and try to get more diesel
semis off the road.

Well, I think you just figured
out the next leg of my trip.

Perfect.

Do you think you could set me up
with taking a look at a big rig?

Absolutely. What are
you doing tomorrow?

I think I now know.

Thank you so much. Thank you.

Alright. Take care.
You too. Bye.

♪♪

Hey, Chris. Hey, Tamara.

I had such a good
time in the mirai

that I have come back for more.

That's great. I'm really glad
that you enjoyed it.

Well, Jackie and I were talking
about different applications

for fuel cells -- so, trucks.

So, this is the next big
thing that we're working on.

So we're taking two
fuel cell systems

that you found in that mirai

and integrating it and
upscaling it into a truck,

big rig application.

Well, can you kind of
take me on a tour

of what I'm looking at here?

Yeah. So starting in
the back of the truck,

we've removed all of the panels,

so that you can see actually
what's going on underneath.

Wait, hold on.

You don't normally
drive around this way?

No, no, this is definitely
not -- [ Chuckles ]

So what we have back here,

these are all
our hydrogen tanks.

So we have six tanks that are
stacked on top of each other

that contain all the hydrogen.

How far can you go on six tanks?

On this design, about
300, 300-plus miles.

Oh, cool. Okay.
'Cause one of the things

that Jackie and I talked about
was the importance of range,

and especially when
you're talking about

trucks and hauls and all that.

It's clearly really important.

Yeah, no, that's
absolutely a big area

that we're trying to
work on and improve.

And here we have...?

So, this is our
high-voltage battery.

So, like any hybrid vehicle
or fuel cell hybrid vehicle,

there's always a
battery of some sort

to help fill in the gaps
during driving.

Okay, yeah. The other
thing that she mentioned

was that if you are
only using a battery,

that it would just be
way too much weight.

That's right. Gotcha.

And speaking of getting
the hydrogen in --

Yeah, so these are
our fuel nozzles here,

so it's a very similar process
to filling up a gas car.

Okay, cool. What else
do we have going on?

So, moving forward --

So this is the -- this component
here is the core of the vehicle.

So, this is the fuel cell stack,

so there's one here
and the second one's

on the opposite side
of the vehicle.

And so that takes hydrogen
from the tanks

along with oxygen from the air,

and converts it to
electricity and water.

The water is expelled backwards
through some exhaust pipes,

and the electricity,
along with the electricity

from the battery,
comes up to the front.

There's a bunch of
power electronics up here

that filters the electricity
and prepares it,

before it's shot backwards
to an electric motor,

which then powers the wheels.

Very cool. Alright, well,

now that I have seen the inside,

I want to get outside
and go for a ride.

Yeah, absolutely.

So we have Danny, our driver,

who's gonna show you all about
driving this thing on the road.

Fantastic, cause I got
a lot of questions.

Oh, perfect.

♪♪

Hey, I'm Tamara. Hi, I'm Danny.

Chris said you'd be up
for giving me a ride?

That's right. Hop in.

Awesome, thanks.

♪♪

Hi. Hello.

Thanks for having me.
Oh, thanks for coming.

I've been exploring this world

of hydrogen fuel cell
electric vehicles,

and we've been talking about
all the different applications.

So obviously, I
looked at the mirai,

and now I'm looking at big rigs.

Yeah, it's pretty incredible
that we're in a vehicle

that can tow 80,000 pounds.

And for me, it's important
because, you know,

these vehicles tend to pollute
in areas around the port,

and, you know, this is
part of a solution.

And specifically, when we talk
about greenhouse gas emissions

and mostly that,

it'll have a very big impact
on the environment.

Absolutely. Now, you've been
doing this for awhile now,

so do you find that the ride
actually feels different

when you're when you're
in this kind of truck

as opposed to
a conventional truck?

Yeah, I think
the ride is pleasant.

As you can see, we're having
a decent conversation.

In a diesel truck,
it's really noisy.

I tend to smell like diesel
at the end of the day,

and/or exhaust, and here it's
like, it's really pleasant.

Definitely. It's very calm.

♪♪

Alright, well,
thank you so much.

It looks like we
have hit my stop.

I know you're gonna fuel
up with some hydrogen,

and my next part of this
journey actually involves

talking with some
folks on a boat

that's being powered
by hydrogen fuel cells.

Wow, that sounds awesome.
Very cool.

Alright. Thanks
again. Take care.

Thank you.

♪♪

♪♪

I am about to check in
with the "energy observer,"

a hydrogen-fuel-cell-powered
vessel

that's been traveling
around the world

showcasing alternative
energy sources.

Ahoy, energy observer!

My team and I have
so many questions for you.

Hi there. Thanks for having me.

Tell us about your mission.

Where have you been
and what are you doing?

Energy observer is a
boat which is powered

thanks to a mix of
different renewable energies.

So we have solar power,
we have wind propulsion,

and we have hydrogen.

So it's that mix
working together

that allows us to navigate.

With all of this technology,
we're 100 percent autonomous,

which means we don't really have

any limits to how far we can go,

and that's what's
absolutely amazing

about the technologies
that we have on board.

For example, this year we
managed to cross the Atlantic.

We were autonomous for 41 days
and 5,000 nautical miles,

which has quite astounded.

It really proves that
what we have on board

and what we've been developing
and are continuing to develop

is probably one of the solutions

to change maritime transport
in the future.

What do you do about refueling?

To refuel "energy observer,"
it's actually really simple.

All we need is the and
the wind and the hydrogen

that we produce on on board,
thanks to both those energies.

Do you know what I would love?

Could you use your camera to
show me around the boat?

Sure. Let me show you.

So here you have
our living space.

We have the kitchen,

and then we have six cabins,

a shower and toilet.

So this is really the area
where the crew lives.

There's four of us.

And in the center here,
you have our control system.

So this is where we control
all of the different

renewable technologies
we have on board

and all of the engines,
the battery packs.

So this is basically what we
call the brain of the ship.

So we're on top of
the central nacelle,

which is the living
area of the crew.

And you can see the 200
square meters of solar panels

and the ocean wings.

All of the technology
is situated in our hulls.

So his storage system, and below
here you'd have the fuel cell,

which is actually in service.

How does it feel
when you're on the boat?

I mean, can you tell that

it's powered differently
than traditional boats?

So, I don't know if you
can hear right now --

There's a little bit of waves.

When you're sailing on board
"energy observer,"

you don't really
hear anything much

then maybe the electric
engines turning --

So it's kind of like
a "bvvvv" --

But that's about it.

How exactly are you
demonstrating

the alternative energy sources,

and how are people
reacting to them?

One thing that we do which
is slightly different

to what we do on board, is
that every stopover we have,

we've got a village,
an exhibition village

which follows us, in which
we can explain the boat,

the expedition, and
especially educate people

about renewable energies
and hydrogen.

How exactly are you able
to use the energy observer

to promote the next
generation of energy network?

Energy observer is
basically a floating lab.

We've tested quite a few
different technologies

that haven't worked for us,

and we've implemented
different ones

or improved the ones
that are still on board,

and that's how we promote

the different renewable energy
sources that we have on board.

Well, thank you so much

for taking the time
to talk today,

and best of luck in
your ongoing voyage.

I hope that you eventually
make it to L.A.

So that we can meet in person,

and maybe I can hitch
a ride with you.

Fingers crossed.

Bye.

♪♪

♪♪

Krinsky: So, I've gotten to
see a lot of different possibilities

for how to utilize hydrogen
in a clean energy future,

but there's still
one thing missing --

Infrastructure.

And that is why I find
myself in a parking lot,

safely distanced,
talking to Greg.

Hi, thanks for joining us.

So, tell me a little
bit about this site.

So, this is the site of what
will be the world's largest

100 percent renewable
hydrogen station.

And you've been working on this
project for awhile, right?

This site's been going on
for about four years now,

and Toyota's been developing
fuel cell technology

for nearly three decades.

Okay, so you need
a lot of Patience

to invest in future
projects like that.

What gives you the confidence
that this is the way to go?

That's a good question.

So, I really think
hydrogen is the future

for a carbon-free
mobility solution.

It's the only thing that
really looks and feels

like gasoline for customers,
and that's really important.

So you want to give people
the same experience

that they've been
used to for decades.

Well, thank you so much
for giving me

a glimpse into the future.

I can't wait to visit here
and see it when it's all built.

Now I'm gonna head back
and call in to headquarters.

Thanks again. Thank you.

Davison: Hey, Tamara!
You're still in L.A.!

Hey, George.

Yes, I am indeed
still in Los Angeles,

and I wanted to give you
a little bit of the view.

Honestly, this trip
feels a little bit

like I've time-traveled
into the future.

How about that mirai?

I had such a good time
driving the mirai.

It was fantastic to have
an opportunity to see

hydrogen fuel cell technology
up close and personal.

We took a gorgeous drive --
Blue sky, the ocean --

And all I could think
about was that

there was nothing coming out
of this tailpipe except water.

It made it really easy to see

how this technology can
definitely be a part

of California's zero-emissions
goals for the future.

How about that big rig?

Remember when I pulled
1,000 pounds of bananas

on one of our trips?

Well, I think I've got
a new record for you.

80,000 pounds.

Yep, that's how much
we were hauling

when I was riding
in the big rig.

It was fantastic to get
to see it in action,

and we drove all around the port
of L.A., San Pedro, long beach,

and we talked about a bunch
of different use cases.

I learned a new word -- drayage.

Turns out that's when a shipping
container comes off the ship

and is taken by a truck
to a local spot

where it waits for the vehicle
that's gonna take it

all around the country
where it needs to go.

Well, think about it --
Those trucks are going

back and forth and back
and forth all day long.

That is a lot of emissions,

unless you have a
zero-emissions vehicle.

It made me see
how this technology

can really be a crucial part
of environmental equity,

as it cleans up the air
for the local communities.

How about that
"energy observer?"

But what I love
about the boat is

they have the same
mission that we do --

To expose people to
the technologies

that are really
shaping our future.

And it's so cool --
They have the power

to create hydrogen from seawater

using solar power
and an electrolyzer.

Nice work out there.
I'll see you soon.

♪♪

♪♪