ENTERPRISE Rent-A-Car is expanding its zero-emissions fleet by piloting 17 hydrogen fuel cell electric cars.
Working closely with Toyota, Enterprise is offering the Mirai saloon to existing corporate customers across the country via Enterprise Car Club members and employees to explore how emerging technologies such as hydrogen fuel cells can be deployed in real world scenarios.
The Toyota Mirai uses hydrogen to make electricity to power its motor though a fuel cell. The car can be refuelled at a hydrogen pump, in just three minutes. Mirai creates zero harmful emissions, producing only pure water from the fuel cell process. It has a range of around 300 miles from a tank of hydrogen fuel.
Iain Macbeth, Enterprise European Partnerships and Innovation Strategy Director, said the company has made a decision to explore emerging technologies such as hydrogen fuel cells to understand the impact they can have in real-world situations and gather feedback from users.
“Our goal is to use this fleet of hydrogen vehicles to examine the potential for the technology in practical working environments. We want to see what role hydrogen vehicles might play in the future advancement of sustainable mobility, to reduce emissions and to help cities, communities and businesses to achieve their air quality goals.”
Jon Hunt, Toyota GB Manager Alternative Fuels, said Enterprise joins energy companies, aviation, engineering and private hire companies, as well as local authorities, government departments and universities, in adopting hydrogen fuelled transport.
“We’ll be very interested to see the results of Enterprise’s pilot study into the use of hydrogen fuelled Mirai cars for its fleet. This is another example of commercial companies exploring the potential of these zero emission cars as we progress towards a hydrogen society.”
Enterprise says it is committed to helping incorporate sustainability goals into comprehensive, long-term local transportation planning. The company is a key part of private and public sector partnerships delivering Mobility as a Service projects in the West Midlands and Scotland. It is also supporting the development of Mobility Hubs, including a recently opened hub in Greenwich, which bring together multiple forms of transport which can all be accessed through a shared digital platform.
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