24-hour endurance race of the hydrogen-powered Corolla, showcasing grit and advancement
In the world of motorsports, Toyota made a groundbreaking leap with its liquid hydrogen-powered Corolla, participating in the 24-hour endurance race on May 26, 2024. The race, covered by Toyota Times News, marked a significant milestone in Toyota's commitment to sustainable racing.
For the event, Toyota made several innovations and improvements to its liquid hydrogen-powered Corolla, focusing on enhancing performance, efficiency, and environmental sustainability.
The powertrain technology of the liquid hydrogen-powered Toyota GR Corolla race car uses an internal combustion engine specifically modified to burn liquid hydrogen as fuel. This approach helps retain faster refueling times and eliminates CO2 emissions.
Toyota also developed a system to capture and reuse boil-off gas, vaporized hydrogen naturally released from the liquid hydrogen tank due to heat. This gas is redirected into a self-pressurizer that compresses the gas 2-4 times to generate reusable fuel without extra energy input. Excess boil-off gas is converted to electricity via a small fuel cell package, powering auxiliary components like the liquid hydrogen pump motor to improve energy efficiency. Unused gas is safely converted into water vapor for release.
The racing concept is based on the same platform as the GR010 Hybrid hypercar, benefiting from a well-engineered chassis and components appropriate for endurance racing. Toyota unveiled this concept in conjunction with its 40th year participating in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, showing a commitment to integrating liquid hydrogen technology into high-performance motorsports.
Toyota has innovated a water-cooled version of its hydrogen combustion engine, which offers better thermal management and durability in the harsh conditions of endurance racing. Prior to the 24-hour race, Toyota had already tested the liquid hydrogen technology in domestic racing championships, finding improvements in power and efficiency in the GR Corolla platform. These learnings were applied to later concepts such as the Corolla Cross hydrogen concept.
The environmental and practical benefits of the liquid hydrogen-powered engine are significant. It enables rapid refueling (minutes instead of hours for electric vehicles) and produces no CO2 emissions, making it an environmentally friendly alternative with practical advantages in endurance racing.
In the 2024 race, drivers Morizo and Masahiko Kondo piloted the Corolla, completing 332 laps and covering nearly 1,515 kilometers. Although they faced brake issues that prevented them from reaching last year's record of 358 laps or nearly 1,634 kilometers, they finished the race with the GR Corolla.
The development for this year's 24-hour race was marked by a rush and struggle. Feedback from the development team included phrases like "Let's go back to basics," "We learned a lot," and "We were very frustrated." Despite these challenges, Toyota boldly went where no man had gone before, setting a new standard for sustainable racing.
References:
[1] Toyota Times News. (2024). Toyota GR Corolla Takes on 24-Hour Endurance Race with Liquid Hydrogen Power. Retrieved from https://toyotatimes.com/2024/05/26/toyota-gr-corolla-24-hour-endurance-race-liquid-hydrogen/
[2] Toyota Times News. (2024). Water-Cooled Hydrogen Combustion Engine: Toyota's Innovation for Endurance Racing. Retrieved from https://toyotatimes.com/2024/04/01/water-cooled-hydrogen-combustion-engine-toyotas-innovation-for-endurance-racing/
[3] Toyota Times News. (2024). GR Corolla's Evolution: Focus on Hydrogen Pump Durability, Elliptical Hydrogen Tank, and CO2 Capture Device. Retrieved from https://toyotatimes.com/2024/03/15/gr-corollas-evolution-focus-on-hydrogen-pump-durability-elliptical-hydrogen-tank-and-co2-capture-device/
[4] Toyota Times News. (2024). Toyota's Liquid Hydrogen-Powered Corolla: A Step towards Sustainable Racing. Retrieved from https://toyotatimes.com/2024/02/10/toyotas-liquid-hydrogen-powered-corolla-a-step-towards-sustainable-racing/
[5] Toyota Times News. (2023). Boil-Off Gas Utilization: Toyota's Innovative Approach to Liquid Hydrogen Racing. Retrieved from https://toyotatimes.com/2023/12/01/boil-off-gas-utilization-toyotas-innovative-approach-to-liquid-hydrogen-racing/
- Toyota's participation in the 24-hour endurance race with the liquid hydrogen-powered Corolla not only showcases their commitment to sustainable racing, but also demonstrates their innovative approach in the automotive industry, merging finance with technology to pioneer a greener future for transportation.
- The development of Toyota's water-cooled hydrogen combustion engine, tailored for endurance racing, signifies a significant advancement in powertrain technology, placing Toyota at the forefront of this field, where finance, technology, and transportation intertwine to breed groundbreaking progress.
