Skip to main content

New Toyota Mirai billboards in California help clear the air

Toyota Mirai billboard
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Toyota took zero-emission motoring to the next level with its Mirai fuel cell electric vehicle, which is currently available only in California. The Mirai, which needs hydrogen fuel to power its electric motor, emits nothing but water vapor. The FCV will be featured on a new billboard (nothing new about cars on billboards) but this one, fittingly, helps to clean the air.

The Toyota Mirai eco-billboard campaign, working in conjunction with Clear Channel Outdoor Americas, will launch 37 billboards in Los Angeles and San Francisco. From April 3 to May 28, these structures will create 24,960 square feet of pollution-scrubbing surface, and reverse the nitrogen dioxide (NOx) emissions of an equivalent 5,285 vehicles per month, according to a Toyota press release. NOx is a contributor to acid rain and smog.

The billboards operate something like a catalytic converter with titanium dioxide-coated vinyl to clean the air. Oxygen reacts with the energized titanium dioxide catalyst, and NOx is converted to nitrate and removed from the air. The billboards are light-activated and will continue to purify the air as long as light, humidity, airflow, and the titanium dioxide coating are present.

“Toyota consistently searches for new environmental technologies across all operations,” Mark Angelacos, advanced technology general manager, Toyota Motor North America, said. “When Clear Channel Outdoor Americas brought us the opportunity, we saw it as a perfect match. This new campaign delivers Toyota Mirai’s ‘vehicle of change’ message on a medium that lives up to that promise.”

The titanium dioxide coating technology used on the eco-billboards was developed by the PURETi Group, and Clear Channel Outdoor Americas has exclusive usage rights in the outdoor advertising category.

“We are pleased to offer our environmentally conscious clients, like Toyota, an even more eco-friendly printed vinyl option for their Out-of-Home (OOH) media campaigns,” Gene Leehan, executive vice president and senior regional president, Clear Channel Outdoor Americas, said. “This campaign marks a U.S. first for the use of this technology on OOH, and we look forward to making it available to other like-minded advertisers.”

The eco-billboard campaign was highlighted during the first Environmental Media Association Impact Summit in Beverly Hills, California. A Mirai was wrapped with the titanium dioxide coated vinyl, and it purified the air as guests entered the event.

Albert Khoury
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Al started his career at a downtown Manhattan publisher, and has since worked with digital and print publications. He's…
2020 Toyota Camry vs. 2020 Honda Accord
2020 Toyota Camry

The decades-old Toyota Camry versus Honda Accord rivalry is alive and well in 2020. Both sedans are increasingly overshadowed by the crossovers they share showroom space with, but they remain wildly popular and are common sights all across America. In 2019, the Camry was America's eighth-bestselling car (336,978 units), and the Accord fell to the 11th spot (267,567 units). Here's how these two sedans compare on paper, and how they're different.
Tech features

1.
2020 Toyota Camry TRD
2.
2020 Honda Accord

Read more
All the hydrogen vehicles available for purchase
Hyundai Nexo

Electric cars aren't the only zero-emissions vehicles available new in the United States. There are three hydrogen-powered models currently on sale that emit nothing but water vapor from their tailpipe. They drive just like EVs, the days of burning hydrogen in an internal-combustion engine belong to the past, but they offer a greater driving range and much quicker refueling times. The big, deal-breaking trade-off is that the refueling infrastructure is tiny, and it's developing at a snail's pace. Do you have any idea where the nearest hydrogen station is?

Many automakers believe the technology and the corresponding infrastructure will expand during the 2020s. Until then, here are the only hydrogen-powered vehicles you can buy new in 2020.
Hyundai Nexo

Read more
NASA wants help designing a new lunar rover. Here’s how we’d configure it
moon dust laser 3d printing moonrise grafik 1 final klein 2000x1200

The Artemis lunar exploration program launched by NASA in 2017 could put men and women on the moon by 2024. It's been a while since we visited, so the agency is starting from scratch, and needs a new exploration vehicle for its astronaut. To that end, it's asking American companies (including automakers and tech firms) to help design it.

NASA published the project's basic guidelines on its website. It wants the next lunar rover to be electric, which goes without saying. It envisions a vehicle with a cabin that isn't pressurized, and that humans can drive.  Because the moon doesn't (yet) have a Department of Transportation in charge of paving roads, the rover must tackle challenging terrain. The agency predicts lessons learned from the project will benefit the auto industry.

Read more