The Hydrogen Factory will be responsible for producing an increasing number of fuel cell systems and supporting a widening group of commercial partnerships, in line with the company’s strategy to achieve carbon neutrality in Europe by 2040, ten years ahead of Toyota’s global target.
Toyota expects Europe to be one of the world’s largest hydrogen fuel cell markets by 2030, with steady acceleration of different mobility and power generation applications. Growing investment and regulatory measures are encouraging development and market growth. These include a €45-billion investment from the European Commission’s Green Deal by 2027 and the EU’s transport infrastructure fund’s €284 million for the installation of hydrogen refueling stations.
The recent confirmation of the Renewable Energy Directive (REDIII) requires 42% of hydrogen used by industry in Europe to derive from sustainable sources by 2030. Along with the plans to build hydrogen filling stations at a minimum 200 km intervals along the region’s TEN-T (trans-European Transport Network) corridors, Europe is positioning itself at the center of hydrogen technology.
Europe is showing long-term confidence in hydrogen and so do we. We will continue to develop fuel cell passenger cars and other light duty vehicles while we have broadened our focus towards heavy-duty transport to support the expansion of viable hydrogen infrastructure. We aim to further develop and learn through testing in our own network and with partners who share our approach.
—Thiebault Paquet, TME Vice President and Head of Fuel Cell Business
Toyota introduced the Mirai hydrogen fuel cell sedan in 2015. Second-generation fuel cell technology debuted in the next generation Mirai launched in 2020 and was introduced in the all-new Toyota Crown in Japan earlier this year, reaffirming the company’s commitment to hydrogen-powered passenger vehicles.
Earlier this year, the first hydrogen-fueled Hilux FCEV Prototype pick-up was unveiled. (Earlier post.) Produced by a Toyota-led consortium in the UK, the prototype demonstrates how a fuel cell might be incorporated in a pick-up.
Toyota has also been integrating its fuel cell technology into heavy-duty transport and applications for some years now and has recently entered the strategic truck market in Europe, with hydrogen-powered trucks from the French manufacturer Hyliko and the Netherlands-based VDL Groep. Toyota will be using the hydrogen-powered VDL trucks to decarbonize its own logistics operations.
The company is also expanding its partnership with Corvus in Norway for future marine applications. French clean mobility company GCK will use Toyota’s fuel cell modules to convert diesel coaches to zero-emission hydrogen vehicles.
To meet growing demand in the region, TME started producing its second generation compact fuel cell modules in Europe in January 2022. In terms of infrastructure, Toyota's long-term vision is to establish 700bar as a standard for fuel cell electric vehicles and products.
The next generation. Building on its extensive experience, Toyota is developing next-generation hydrogen fuel cell technology that the company expects to deliver industry-leading performance through longer lifecycles and reduced costs.
The new fuel cell technology, scheduled for sales in 2026, will deliver a higher power density. The new fuel cell system is expected to have a 20% increase in driving range, whereas technical advances and increased production volumes are expected to help reduce costs by more than a third. Further research is also looking at the potential of scalable fuel cell stacks with different power outputs and design of fuel tanks with complex shapes, compatible with different size vehicles.
