Category Archives: energy

WATER-POWERED CARS

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HOW DO YOU CELEBRATE TOYOTATHON?
https://forbes.com/2025/06/15/no-toyota-didnt-build-a-water-powered-car/
No, Toyota Didn’t Build A Water-Powered Car
by Robert Rapier, chemical engineer   /  Jun 15, 2025

“Over the past two weeks, multiple people have sent me a story about a supposed water-powered car and asked for comment. The story varies, but one widely shared version on Facebook claimed: “In a move that will shake up the global auto industry, Toyota has just unveiled a water-powered engine powered by hydrogen created through electrolysis — emitting only water vapor! No lithium. No charging stations. Just pure disruption.” This is pure nonsense, but I have been hearing similar stories for decades. I believe the first version I ever heard was that a brilliant inventor had invented a car that ran on water, but the oil companies bought the patent. Or otherwise made the man disappear. These claims are revived every few years, so let’s clear this up.

Although water can be an energy source, it is not a fuel. Water is actually the combustion product of hydrogen, which is a fuel. Water is produced when hydrogen is burned. Water can function as an energy source in some situations. Falling water can produce electricity via hydropower, and moving ocean water can produce electricity via tidal or wave power. But water as the power source for a vehicle is nonsense. Consider the claim above. A “water-powered engine”, which is immediately contradicted by the phrase “powered by hydrogen created through electrolysis.” Is the latter phrase technically viable? Yes, but it misses two issues.

First, the power source–the fuel–is actually hydrogen. Energy as electricity is being put into the water to split it apart and create the hydrogen (and oxygen). In other words, hydrogen (via electricity) is the power source, but water is a power sink.  More importantly, where is the energy coming from to create the electricity for the electrolysis? In this scenario, that would likely have to come from a battery. But such a scenario would be inefficient, because each energy conversion stage involves efficiency losses. That’s basic thermodynamics. Rather than use a battery to produce hydrogen via electrolysis, which then has to be converted into energy to power a car, it would be far more efficient (and practical) just to use the initial electricity directly without the conversion steps.

So, What Did Toyota Actually Announce? There’s no question that Toyota has been very active in developing hydrogen vehicles. The confusion seems to stem from a real announcement by Toyota last year. The company filed a patent for a water-cooled hydrogen combustion engine. That’s a very different thing than a car that runs on water. In Toyota’s design, the engine runs on hydrogen, not water. The claimed innovation lies in the cooling system. Instead of relying on traditional radiators or air cooling, Toyota’s system injects water directly into the cylinders. This helps control the high combustion temperatures associated with hydrogen and allows the use of lighter engine materials—ultimately improving efficiency and reducing weight. But the vehicle still requires external hydrogen refueling. It doesn’t split water into hydrogen onboard, and it’s not powered by water. The term “water engine” in this case refers to the cooling system, not the fuel source.

The recurring claims of a water-powered car make for great clickbait, but they don’t align with the laws of physics. Water doesn’t “release” energy as a fuel. It requires some other energy source to convert it into a fuel. That doesn’t mean hydrogen-powered vehicles aren’t technically viable. They are, and Toyota has been a pioneer in that space. But hydrogen needs to be produced, stored, and delivered, and every step in that process consumes energy. So no, Toyota hasn’t built a car that runs on water. They just patented a potentially better way to cool a hydrogen engine. And while that may be good engineering, it’s not the miracle of free energy people envision when they read and share “water-powered car” stories. The real story is more nuanced—and far more grounded in science. It’s just not as click worthy.”

a HYDROGEN SOCIETY
https://media.toyota.co.uk/toyota-unveils-technology-that-will-change-future-of-cars
Toyota unveils new technology that will change the future of cars / 13 June 2023

“Under the banner “let’s change the future of cars,” Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota) has announced a range of a new technologies that will support its transformation into a mobility company. At a technical briefing in Japan, Hiroki Nakajima, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, explained Toyota’s technology strategy and the future direction of car manufacturing. He also talked about specific and diverse technologies, including concepts currently under development, that will help Toyota achieve the vision and policies it has communicated. He was joined by Takero Kato, president of Toyota’s new BEV production centre, and Mitsumasa Yamagata, who is scheduled to become president of the company’s hydrogen factory, to be launched in July. They provided more detail on their respective strategies for the battery EV and hydrogen businesses…

…The hydrogen markets in Europe, China and North America will be the world’s largest by 2030. The fuel cell market is expected to expand rapidly towards that point, reaching the value of 5 trillion yen (approximately £5.7 billion) per year. We are promoting external sales of fuel cells, using the Mirai’s hydrogen units; we have received offers for 100,000 unit sales by 2030, most of them for commercial vehicles. To respond to the rapid changes in the market, we will establish a new organisation, the Hydrogen Factory, in July this year. This will be able to make immediate decisions under one leader, from sales to development and production, all at once. The Hydrogen Factory will promote business on three axes…

…Toyota positions hydrogen an important fuel in its efforts to reduce CO2 emissions and achieve the aim of carbon neutrality. To help create a “hydrogen society” by promoting the use of hydrogen, it is working with industry partners in areas of hydrogen production, transportation and usage. It is also developing and demonstrating fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs), including passenger cars, commercial trucks and buses, FC stationary generators and vehicles using hydrogen combustion engines. Toyota is also developing liquid hydrogen tanks for large commercial vehicles.

Hydrogen production – by water production or from biogas

  • Toyota has produced a new water electrolyser to produce hydrogen, applying the fuel cell stack and cell technologies it developed for the Mirai FCEV. Public trials of the unit have started at Denso’s Fukushima plant.
  • Toyota has launched an initiative to produce hydrogen from biogas derived from local chicken manure and food waste in Thailand by the end of 2023, working in collaboration with Mitsubishi Kakoki Corporation and Toyota Tsusho Corporation.

Hydrogen-engine vehicle

  • Toyota has developed a trial hydrogen-engine vehicle, licensed to be driven on public roads in Japan.
  • It will accelerate the development of hydrogen-engine vehicles for commercialisation, as new option for contributing to carbon neutrality.
  • It will promote consideration of the entire vehicle, for example incorporating an exhaust purification system that uses established diesel engine technology…”

PREVIOUSLY

GEOLOGIC HYDROGEN
https://spectrevision.net/2024/02/28/geologic-hydrogen/
FIRST ELECTRIC CARS
https://spectrevision.net/2022/09/09/first-electric-cars/
FARM to HIGHWAY
https://spectrevision.net/2022/05/18/farm-chemurgy/