A GREENER HYBRID; TOYOTA'S CONCEPT FOR L.A. SHOW USES NO GASOLINE AT ALL.(NEWS)

Byline: KEVIN A. WILSON

Spinning off yet another variation on the clean-energy theme, Toyota plans to display a CNG-hybrid version of its Camry family sedan at the Los Angeles show in November. Using compressed natural gas (CNG) instead of gasoline to fuel the engine highlights the fuel's growing emergence as a domestic energy source in abundant supply, said Irv Miller, group vice president for corporate communications.

Development of a CNG infrastructure, Miller noted, is ahead of that for hydrogen, with 1.8 million miles of pipeline in the United States. The supply also is readily available, not dependent on imports or development of new refining methods.

The announcement was made during the company's Sustainable Mobility Seminar in Portland, Ore., where speakers discussed challenges in the development of biofuels and an infrastructure to support hydrogen fuel cells.

CNG refueling stations are still rarethere are about 1,000 nationwide, and not even half are open to the publicbut still far more abundant than those for hydrogen. About 1,200 stations pump E85 ethanol today. Of the 10 or so hydrogen refilling stations in the country, none could adequately recharge the pair of fuel-cell hybrids that Toyota demonstrated at the seminar. The cars require hydrogen compressed to 10,000 psi, but no source was available to refill the tanks at full compression.

Seminar organizers even found it difficult in green-friendly Portland to find electrical recharging stations for the trio of prototype plug-in-hybrid Prius cars being used to demonstrate that technology. Toyota plans to introduce a plug-in version of the Prius for fleet sales (not to individuals) in late 2009. It had to recharge its cars at the local power ...