Original subtitles

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.

♪♪

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