Fond Farewell to the FCHV

May 5, 2016



Clockwise from Top Right: 2009 Hydrogen Road Tour, FCHV-Adv at the UC Irvine Hydrogen Station, 2005 City of Irvine Deployment Event, Professor Scott Samuelsen with FCHV-Adv at the National Fuel Cell Research Center


In February 2016, the National Fuel Cell Research Center (NFCRC) said goodbye to the last Toyota pre-production prototype Fuel Cell Hybrid Vehicle (FCHV) in the NFCRC fleet. Expanding from a single vehicle in 2002, to seventeen by 2010, various versions of the SUV joined and departed the fleet, culminating in the FCHV-Adv ("Fuel Cell Hybrid Vehicle-Advanced") version. With the production and sale of Mirai fuel cell sedan in October 2015, Toyota retired the fleet of demonstration FCHVs.

FCHVs in the NFCRC fleet were deployed to various users in and around the Irvine area. The first went to Orthodyn Electronics on December 24, 2002. Other users included: the City of Irvine, the Irvine Company, South Coast Air Quality Management District, Orange County Sanitation District, Orange County Produce and Horiba. Over the years, the NFCRC also utilized the cars in hundreds of outreach events and activities, helping to educate and familiarize people with fuel cell vehicle technology. Data gathered through these deployments and outreach activities provided valuable information used in the development of Toyota's FCHV program.