PROJECTS
Croatia Mirai Challenge
Croatia Mirai challenge is a trip on the route Zagreb – Brussels along the European route where hydrogen refuelling stations are installed. This was an extremely important event for the entire Republic of Croatia because it was the first time that one hydrogen-powered vehicle drove on Croatian roads.
A hydrogen vehicle is an electric vehicle that the electricity needed to power an electric motor gets from hydrogen through a fuel cell stack. The use of hydrogen as an alternative fuel contributes to the reduction of CO2 emissions in transport since the only by-products are water and heat. With this event (with the already installed first Croatian hydrogen refuelling station and the first Croatian hydrogen bicycle), we want to raise awareness of the importance of switching to cleaner transport and encourage decision-making at all levels of city and state administration in Croatia for introducing the hydrogen as an alternative fuel, development of hydrogen infrastructure, i.e., installation of hydrogen refuelling stations.
In this way, we will stand side by side with the countries of the EU and the world that already have a developed hydrogen infrastructure, which means that they are ready to accept and are already accepting hydrogen-powered vehicles. Croatia is a tourist country; we have beautiful landscapes and a beautiful sea and that is why we need clean technologies to make this beauty last.
The Croatia Mirai Challenge started on September 18, 2019. The members of the H2 crew are Ankica Kovač, Ph.D., Head of the Power Engineering Laboratory at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture, Ivana Bučanac Jeleković from Toyota Croatia Inc., and media representatives Vedran Flajnik and Juraj Šebalj (editorial staff of the TV show Automarket). The H2 crew was escorted by Ambassador of Japan Misako Kaji, then the dean of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture, prof. dr. sc. Dubravko Majetić, and the director of Toyota Croatia Inc. Krešimir Bago. The planned H2 route included Zagreb – Graz – Passau – Geiselwind – Wiesbaden – Cologne – Brussels. The trip lasted a bit more than 24 hours (with night rest). During the Croatia Mirai challenge, a total of 1297 km were covered.