Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda R&D Co. said they have joined forces in Japan to create a mobile power generation system that will supply power during natural disasters.
The system is called Moving e. The hydrogen-powered bus will carry hydrogen, portable external power output devices and portable batteries, Toyota and Honda said in a statement that coincided with Japan's Disaster Prevention Day.
The auto makers said they plan demonstration testing of the system, so it can be delivered "anytime and anywhere."
It was not clear if or when the system would become available in North America.
Moving e is a combination of Toyota's charging station fuel cell bus and Honda's Power Exporter 9000. It has two types of Honda's portable batteries and Honda's Mobile Power Pack Charge and Supply Concept.
"The Charging Station loaded with all equipment will be driven to the place and the Moving e will supply electricity in actual locations," a statement from Toyota said.
It's developed based on the Toyota FC Bus but has a higher capacity of hydrogen and power generation to supply electricity to evacuation centers and vehicles.
It can be utilized as a "phase free" system, which gives the ability to be used during disaster response.
"The two companies will verify the effectiveness of the Moving e mobile power generation/output system as a phase-free system through various uses by municipalities and businesses which fulfill the necessary conditions and are willing to cooperate with the testing," according to the statement.
The companies aren't saying if they have a plan for future commercial applications of Moving e.
"We are only announcing the start of a demonstration testing, and there is nothing we can disclose about commercialization at this moment," Toyota said in an emailed statement.