Toyota Europe has begun a new test project with Coca-Cola and its supply operations division for a hydrogen fuel cell (FCEV) long-haul truck trial that's part of the OEM's decarbonization efforts of heavy duty road transportation on the continent.
This hydrogen-powered truck boasts Toyota fuel modules which combine hydrogen gas and oxygen molecules into water while simultaneously generating electricity. Water is the only tailpipe emission.
Air Liquide, which produces and distributes low-carbon and renewable hydrogen, is Toyota's supplier. The companies say this collaboration is mutually beneficial as it will provide critical feedback regarding future vehicle and infrastructure development.
Toyota
Heavy-duty road transport accounts for a quarter of Europe's freight transport based on ton-kilometers performed, justifying the need to develop hydrogen-powered commercial vehicles that utilize sustainable infrastructure.
[Related: Hydrogen fuel cells: Green solution for long-haul trucks]
"To help speed up the expansion of hydrogen technology implementation in our society, we are expanding the use of our Toyota Fuel Cell Module beyond passenger cars into trucks, buses, coaches, trains, boats, near-shore and short-sea vessels, stationary generators, and so on," said Thiebault Paquet, vice president R&D of Toyota Motor Europe. "It is a great pleasure to collaborate with like-minded partners and demonstrate our shared vision of sustainable mobility. The insights gained from these proof of concepts will serve as crucial milestones on our path toward achieving zero tailpipe carbon emissions in our logistics operations by 2040."
Air Liquide Vice President of Hydrogen Energy World Business Line, Erwin Penformnis say that the company "shares the same ambition as Coca-Cola and Toyota: implementing concrete solutions to meet the challenge of climate change. This project is part of such approach and will demonstrate the relevance of hydrogen for heavy-duty mobility. With a growing call for products with low-carbon transportation footprint, hydrogen is particularly well-suited to long-distance transportation, providing flexibility and productivity."
Toyota adds that this collaboration is another example of its efforts to help establish Carbon Neutral societies throughout the world.
