Toyota wants to change European road transport with hydrogen trucks

Toyota and the Dutch company VDL have partnered to cover Toyota's logistics routes in Europe with hydrogen fuel cell trucks and boost the hydrogen infrastructure on our continent.

Toyota will be in charge of the hydrogen fuel cell and VDL will supply its trucks, which will be existing models conveniently adapted to use the fuel cell.

Nikola's rival

Toyota was one of the first manufacturers to bet on hydrogen and launch a fuel cell production car. Several years after the first Mirai, the Japanese company is no longer alone, but now it has a certain advantage over the firms that are discovering hydrogen, so much so that it is not limited to the automotive sector.

We have seen it recently with the hydrogen buses that the EMT will use in Madrid and that are already operating in other European cities, such as Lisbon, Porto, and Barcelona. But Toyota is clear that hydrogen not only has potential in cars and buses, but it can also be very useful in the road transport industry.

In 2017 we already talked about a hydrogen truck from the Japanese brand and just a few weeks ago we learned that Toyota has the green light to market its hydrogen fuel cell kit for trucks in the United States as a zero-emission powertrain.

Well, on this side of the Atlantic, we're also going to see Toyota's hydrogen fuel cell trucks on the road. The European division of the Japanese firm (Toyota Motor Europe) has partnered with the Dutch VDL to convert existing heavy trucks into zero-emission vehicles.

VDL will incorporate Toyota fuel cell modules into its trucks for use in Toyota Motor Europe's logistics network. The objective of this agreement is to “accelerate the decarbonization of the road logistics sector”.

Toyota emphasizes that the advantages of hydrogen are key to achieving this, highlighting its ability to refuel with the same speed as diesel and the lower weight of hydrogen-based systems compared to battery electric trucks, which allow for carrying heavier loads.

With this agreement, Toyota and VDL also intend to promote the development of a hydrogen network around special routes that "can serve other hydrogen vehicles, which can use the same refueling stations", as Toyota itself points out.

By introducing these hydrogen trucks, Toyota and VDL will have to face rivals such as Nikola, who has finally managed to bring his fuel cell to the roads with the help of Iveco. New manufacturers are also arriving, such as the Scottish HVS, which has financial support from the British government and aims to have its fuel-cell truck ready by 2025.

Of course, both Nikola and HVS are developing fuel cell trucks from scratch, while Toyota has decided to partner with a company that has years of experience in the sector and has already developed the trucks.

The diesel mechanics and diesel tanks will simply be replaced by an electric motor, the fuel cell, and hydrogen tanks that are located just behind the cabin.

Toyota's journey with its fuel cell kit for the North American market is decisive in carrying out this project. Although VDL also has experience with hydrogen, both with trucks and buses, it is easier not to have to start from scratch and use existing models.