Even with temperatures dipping below zero, two East Coast fleets with Toyota FCHV-adv fuel cell vehicles have defied the winter weather. The vehicles started up with no signs of distress, even when covered in a blanket of snow, according to Toyota.

The vehicles, operated by Conn.-based Proton Onsite and Air Products in Allentown, Pa., fought snow, wind chill and far-below freezing temperatures to keep employees on the road and performing their duties.

"We had another snow storm Tuesday night and this morning the temperature was 3 degrees," said Mark Schiller, vice president of business development at Proton, a hydrogen energy and innovative gas solutions company. "I went out to my Toyota FCHV-adv and brushed off a foot of snow before starting the car right up. No problem."

Nick Mittica, Air Products’ commercial manager of hydrogen energy systems, saw similar performance when taking the vehicles out on the snow-covered roads.

"Our employees have driven it to community and business-related events during one of Pennsylvania’s worst winters in recent memory," said Mittica.

Over the last 10 years, the Toyota fuel cell fleet has logged millions of miles in some of the most extreme climates, including Yellowknife, Canada, where temperatures reach -22 degrees Fahrenheit, and Death Valley, where the heat can top 100 degrees Fahrenheit.