Toyota, Honda Partner on Mobile Power Station

Japan’s two largest automakers, Toyota and Honda, normally don’t work together on advanced technology projects.

Mobile e charging station (Image: Toyota/Honda)

But when it’s for a good cause, they can find common development ground. That’s the case for the Moving e, a mobile power generation/output system that aims to assist communities that have lost power as a result of a severe storm or other natural disaster.

What is It?

The prototype mobile unit is based on the previous generation of Toyota’s FC fuel cell bus but is equipped with twice as many high-pressure hydrogen tanks. This allows the bus to generate as much as 454 kWh of power.

                      Power Exporter 9000 (Image: Honda)

The electricity can be transferred to and stored in large-capacity portable batteries supplied by Honda. The devices can then be used to provide electricity to evacuation centers and other facilities or vehicles as needed.

Honda is contributing its:

• Power Exporter 9000 portable external power output unit
• Two types of portable batteries (LiB-AID E500 and Mobile Power Pack (MPP)
• Mobile Power Pack Charge & Supply Concept charger/discharger for MPP

Anytime, Anywhere

The mobile charging station can provide power to virtually any place that’s accessible to the bus. When not needed during emergencies, this could include remote entertainment venues, the partners note.

Commercialization plans haven’t been announced.

For now, the carmakers plan to demonstrate and test the capabilities of the system with various businesses and municipalities. They describe the mobile charging station as a “phase-free” concept that’s designed to provide assistance during normal times and states of emergency.