2019 Toyota Mirai, photo credit Consumer Reports
LAS CATALINAS ANNOUNCES NEW PARTNERSHIP WITH TOYOTA’S PURDY MOTOR AND AD ASTRA ROCKET COMPANY FOR NEW HYDROGEN CAR LAUNCH
Providing an Exciting Entry Point Experience for Cutting Edge Automotive Technology
GUANACASTE, COSTA RICA, 16 May 2019 — Dedicated to creating a way of life that is healthy, sustainable, fulfilling, and fun, Las Catalinas is pleased to introduce the 2019 Toyota Mirai, a groundbreaking electric vehicle that can travel up to 300 miles on a single tank of hydrogen, refuels in less than five minutes and emits only water.
In conjunction with Ad Astra Rocket Company, the Mirai was brought to Costa Rica in December 2018 by Purdy Motor, the exclusive Toyota dealership in Costa Rica. This exciting new partnership will allow residents and travelers to Las Catalinas a cutting edge transportation experience available nowhere else. The 2019 Mirai will be available for short-term rentals at Las Catalinas via a custom designed app starting May 27th, 2019.
Link to video: https://youtu.be/sLKsJvyKGPQ; images and interviews available on request. Additional details can be found here: https://news.lascatalinascr.com/hydrogencars.
“Las Catalinas is the ideal partner for this launch, as we not only share so many core values, extending far beyond cutting edge ecotourism, but it will also allow and inspire a greater international presence and deeper understanding for us through first hand experiences with the Mirai,” said Purdy’s President Javier Quiros Ramos de Anaya.
Hydrogen vehicles are electric, but instead of storing energy in a battery, they make electricity on board, in a fuel cell, by combining hydrogen stored in a tank with oxygen from the air. Hydrogen Fuel Cell Cars clean the air.
As the car drives, it sucks in the air and filters it; oxygen from the clean air is introduced to the fuel cell, and what comes out of the engine is pure water. Therefore, the car almost acts like a filter for the air in general, not just for the fuel cell. It refuels just like a regular gasoline car, but without any harm to the environment.
On February 24, 2019 Costa Rica launched an ambitious plan to fully decarbonize the nation by 2050. One of the key technologies to accomplish this goal is energy storage through green hydrogen for mobility and stationary power.
The Ad Astra led green hydrogen ecosystem, a public-private partnership involving national and international partners, is a major step in Costa Rica’s de-carbonization journey.
Founder, Chairman and CEO of Ad Astra Rocket Company, Franklin Chang Diaz, is an engineer, physicist and former NASA astronaut who believes working with Purdy Motor and Las Catalinas to launch the Toyota Mirai is consistent with his company’s vision. “Costa Rica’s de-carbonization commitment gives us hope that through teamwork, focus and a shared vision, we could achieve an important national objective in a relatively short time,” said Chang Díaz.
“We at Las Catalinas are proud to be a completely car-free town for so many reasons — and are keen to stay that way,” said Las Catalinas Founder Charles Brewer. “But for day trip adventures and exploring further afield in Costa Rica, this vehicle and partnership could not be a better fit for us.” Brewer, who also founded MindSpring in the 1990s, currently splits his time primarily between Costa Rica and Atlanta, now focusing most of his efforts and energy on building and growing Las Catalinas (details below).
“Growing up in Costa Rica, I have always been aware of it being the eco-friendliest country, and I was particularly excited to be collaborating with Las Catalinas because the demographic of people who chose to visit and stay there share and support the vision of planetary sustainability,” continues Chang Diaz. “As someone who was fortunate enough to see the Earth from space, I have gained a greater appreciation for the fragility of our environment.”
About Ad Astra, http://www.adastrarocket.com/aarc/
A US Delaware corporation established in 2005 with offices in the U.S. (Texas), Germany (Berlin) and Costa Rica (Guanacaste), Ad Astra Rocket Company is the developer of the VASIMR® engine, an advanced plasma space propulsion system aimed at the emerging in-space transportation market.
Ad Astra also owns and operates supporting R&D subsidiaries in Costa Rica focused on earthbound high technology applications in renewable energy, advanced manufacturing and applied physics.
Ad Astra has its main laboratory and corporate headquarters at 141 W. Bay Area Blvd in Webster, Texas, USA, near NASA’s Johnson Space Center. Its Costa Rica subsidiaries are located 10 km west of Liberia, the capital of Guanacaste Province in the country’s pacific northwest.
About Las Catalinas, www.lascatalinascr.com
Las Catalinas is Costa Rica’s newest and liveliest beach town for mindful adventurous spirits. Inspired by New Urbanist philosophy, this car-free, highly walkable destination on Costa Rica’s Guanacaste Coast is well underway with 21 acres under development, a Beach Club and several full-time residents.
When complete, there will be approximately 180 residences (more than 70 are currently complete), 10 restaurants (four currently operating), several thousand square feet of office space, over a dozen plazas and various other merchants with seven currently operating.
Within the town, walkable public spaces are interwoven with nature, and architecture emphasizes indoor-outdoor living with scenic views throughout. The town’s core values and beliefs include environmental stewardship, connection to one another and to the rhythms of nature.
About Purdy Motor Group, https://www.toyotacr.com/purdy-historia/
Purdy Motors is a business group dedicated to the automotive industry and complementary value-added services. It was founded on January 7, 1957 and is the fourth oldest distributor of Toyota in the world. Since its inception, the organization has focused on implementing innovative and technological processes within its services.
It is the only Costa Rican company with a Guinness World Record ™ and is the only certified automotive company with the country branded Esencial Costa Rica. Additionally, it was the first Carbon Neutral certified car company in Latin America and the only Carbon Neutral company in Costa Rica with its own sump.
