Toyota has revealed its first prototype of a hybrid electric vehicle powered by a flexible fuel internal combustion engine.
The design combines an electric motor and a flexible fuel engine capable of burning either pure petrol, pure ethanol or any blend of the two.
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The main goals were high efficiency and minimum emissions. The prototype was built using the current petrol fuelled Prius as a baseline.
On a well to wheel basis, the flexible fuel hybrid offers CO2 emission re-absorption by the sugar cane used here in Brazil to produce ethanol in a process twice as efficient as using corn (as in the US).
Another undeniable advantage is that biofuel is available at the majority of Brazil's 38,000 plus fuel stations.
Toyota is considering producing the flex fuel Prius in Brazil in three years, just-auto has learned. The company is waiting details of Rota (Route) 2030, the new automotive industry regime expected to be announced next month.
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By GlobalDataBefore building the first prototype, Toyota started lab testing in mid 2015. A public road test phase followed beginning with a 1,500 kilometre trip between Sao Paulo City and the federal capital Brasilia, a couple of weeks ago.
Part of the testing programme was to check long trip reliability of the ethanol powertrain on Brazilian roads.
The union in the state of Sao Paulo representing the sugar cane industry (UNICA) is supporting the project which it sees as easier to accomplish than alternative propulsion systems like hydrogen or pure electric. Both would require a lengthy period in which to build infrastructure while flex fuel refuelling is available nationwide now.
The union recently reiterated the importance of biofuels for limiting global warming and for industry to respect the environmental goals for Brazil set by the International Climate Accord (COP 21) signed in 2015 in Paris.
UNICA said ethanol is ever more present in global discussions on decarbonising global transport. Brazil is in a privileged position due to ethanol's low production and distribution costs.
However, a vehicle with a flexible fuel engine burning ethanol has CO2 emissions similar or even inferior to those of an electric vehicle using well to wheel measure, if the electricity recharging the batteries is generated using fossil fuels – oil or, especially, coal.
Currently 60% of the world's electric power is generated using fossil fuels and this does not help reduce CO2.
