As part of the realignment of its strategy, Toyota is duplicating the Hydrogen Factory principle in Europe. This is an organisation that handles both the sales and after-sales of hydrogen technology in several mobility segments.
As a pioneer in hydrogen with the Mirai, which was launched in 2015 (and whose second generation appeared in 2020), Toyota quickly came to the conclusion that the market would not develop through the car. Even though Toyota is continuing its efforts in this area, as demonstrated by the Hilux FCEV pick-up developed in the UK, there are more opportunities to be found in trucks. The manufacturer points out that it has signed agreements with the VDL group and Hyliko. There is also the retrofit of coaches, as in France with the GCK group. Maritime transport is also an option with the Corvus group in Norway for instance.
Europe’s potential
“Europe is showing long-term confidence in hydrogen, and so are we,” says Thiebault Paquet, Head of Fuel Cell Business at Toyota Motor Europe. The Japanese carmaker believes that Europe will be at the forefront of the field by 2030, thanks to massive investment (€45 billion for the Green Deal between now and 2027 and €284 million for the installation of stations). “We’re continuing to develop cars and commercial vehicles, although we’re concentrating more on heavy transport in order to develop the infrastructure”, explains Thiebault Paquet.
In Europe, the company began production of second-generation compact fuel cells in January 2022. They will be used in land transport (cars, buses and trucks), maritime transport and stationary applications.
A new fuel cell in 2026
We have also learned that Toyota is working on a new fuel cell for 2026. The manufacturer is announcing greater power density, a 20% increase in autonomy and, above all, a one-third reduction in price thanks to higher-volume production. Toyota is also working on modular fuel cell stacks and complex tank shapes to meet the needs of vehicles of different sizes.
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Article written by Laurent Meillaud and translated by Logan King
