ROME – After having made it together with Honda “Moving e”, a hydrogen-powered disaster relief vehicle, Toyota relaunches together with the Japanese Red Cross Hospital in Kumamoto. Demonstration tests of the world‘s first mobile fuel cell clinic (FCEV), which uses hydrogen to generate electricity, have been launched. Through the first demonstration tests, the two organizations want to confirm in the field the effectiveness of a fuel cell commercial electric vehicle in the field of medicine and in disaster management, while helping to prevent global warming by reducing emissions of CO2.
In recent times, there has been an increase in adverse and unexpected weather events that cause power outages in the affected areas and require prompt medical interventions on the spot. Precisely for this reason, since last summer, Toyota and the Kumamoto hospital have decided to collaborate to understand how to deal with and solve the problems caused by natural disasters. A real mobile fuel cell clinic was therefore set up, a means to be used both for ordinary rescue services and in the event of disasters caused by calamities, able to also supply electricity in the affected areas (there are more than one hundred alternating current sockets). Toyota has developed the Fcev mobile clinic by applying the fuel cell system used in the first generation Mirai, to its Coaster minibus which can thus achieve superior performance from an environmental point of view (without CO2 emissions or harmful substances) and offers driving comfort. thanks to low noise and vibration.
In addition to the normal electrical plugs, the vehicle was also equipped with a high-power, large-capacity direct current output (maximum output power of 9 kW, power capacity of approximately 90 kWh) to power external users. Inside, the vehicle combines air conditioning with an exhaust system and the Hepa filter to improve infection control during the activity of people on board. Both organizations that gave birth to the mobile hydrogen hospital believe in the added value that this product can deliver compared to conventional versions.
Thanks to the respective know-how and technologies developed, in addition to the high performance of Fuel Cell technology, Toyota and the Kumamoto hospital are aiming at the extended application of the Fcev mobile clinic, capable of reducing the level of stress both for the medical staff, both for patients. The first demonstration tests aim to ensure power supply during disasters, for effective use of the vehicle in medical settings and in disaster-affected areas. In addition, the Fcev mobile clinic offers the potential to be used in a wide range of applications and further developments in the health field such as, for example, the supply of electricity to blood donation buses and vehicles used for medical examinations, including in less populated areas, and for mobile vehicles used to carry out Covid tests. (mr)
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