Toyota’s Hydrogen Trucks: A Step in Decarbonising Freight

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Toyota, Coca-Cola and Air Liquide pilot hydrogen powered truck
Toyota, Coca-Cola and Air Liquide team up to test hydrogen fuel cell trucks, aiming for zero tailpipe emissions and improved hydrogen infrastructure

More than  70% of Europe’s freight is transported by heavy-duty vehicles, predominantly diesel-powered, with alternative powertrains comprising just 1%. 

Despite being only 2% of Europe’s automobiles, these trucks are the second-largest contributors to transport CO2 emissions. Toyota believes hydrogen fuel could be the solution.

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Hydrogen: the pros and cons

Hydrogen has the potential to fuel heavy-duty vehicles with net-zero emissions. However, transitioning is challenging due to limited hydrogen infrastructure. 

Commercial trucks require large hydrogen volumes, making them vital in developing this infrastructure.Toyota is piloting a new hydrogen fuel cell long-haul truck with Coca-Cola and Air Liquide

Thiebault Paquet, Vice President for Research and Development at Toyota Motor Europe, said:, “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. 

Thiebault Paquet, Vice President for Research and Development at 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.”

Toyota, Coca-Cola and Air Liquide pilot hydrogen trucks

Toyota Motor Europe has provided a proof-of-concept hydrogen truck to demonstrate the efficiency of its hydrogen fuel cell technology in heavy-duty transport. This initiative is part of Coca-Cola’s efforts to decarbonise its logistics. Air Liquide supplies the renewable-origin hydrogen for the project.

The truck’s fuel cell combines hydrogen and oxygen to generate electricity, with water as the only byproduct, resulting in zero tailpipe emissions. Hydrogen fuel cells also offer quick refuelling, making them a more convenient option than electricity.

Toyota hydrogen fuel cell truck being loaded with Coca-Cola products

Toyota’s sustainability goals date back to the 1960s, with the latest initiative being the Toyota Environmental Challenge 2050. This plan aims for global carbon neutrality by 2050, encompassing all vehicles and operations.

Additional goals include improving water usage, promoting recycling technologies, and biodiversity conservation. 

Yumi Otsuka, Chief Sustainability Officer at Toyota, added: “As we navigate the challenges of climate change, it is crucial that we come together across industries to find innovative solutions to accelerate the development and adoption of sustainable energy sources, paving the way for a greener and more sustainable future.”

Yumi Otsuka, Chief Sustainability Officer at Toyota

Toyota will showcase its sustainable solutions at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, providing 500 Mirai hydrogen fuel cell cars and 2,650 electric vehicles for the event.

Coca-Cola’s sustainability initiatives

Coca-Cola aims to cut carbon emissions by 25% by 2030, focusing on climate action, water stewardship, products and sustainable packaging. 

Bea Perez, Executive Vice President and Chief Communications, Sustainability and Strategic Partnerships Officer at The Coca-Cola Company, said:, “Our sustainability goals and initiatives are focused on areas where we can make significant, measurable impact. Research shows that truly sustainable brands — those that make good on their promises to people and the planet — will seize the advantage from brands that have not invested sufficiently in sustainability.”

Bea Perez, Executive Vice President and Chief Communications, Sustainability and Strategic Partnerships Officer at The Coca-Cola Company

By 2025, Coca-Cola plans for 100% of its packaging to be recyclable and aims to collect and recycle a bottle or can for each one it sells by 2030. The company has already exceeded its water replenishment goal five years ahead of schedule

Eric Desbonnets, Vice President for Paris 2024 Operations and Sustainability at Coca-Cola, said: “We are pleased to partner with Toyota and Air Liquide to test hydrogen solutions for our long-distance logistics operations. We want to learn from this experience as we continue to work towards reducing our carbon footprint.”

​​​​​​​Air Liquide, a French multinational leader in industrial gases and services, supports this initiative. 

Erwin Penfornis, Vice President of Hydrogen Energy World Business Line at Air Liquide, added:, “Air Liquide 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 an approach and will demonstrate the relevance of hydrogen for heavy-duty mobility. 

Erwin Penfornis, Vice President of Hydrogen Energy World Business Line at Air Liquide

“With a growing call for products with low-carbon transportation footprint, hydrogen is particularly well-suited to long-distance transportation, providing flexibility and productivity.”

As the Official Hydrogen Supporter of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, Air Liquide will supply renewable-origin hydrogen for electro-hydrogen generators in competition venues and more than 500 hydrogen-powered vehicles. 

François Jackow, Chief Executive Officer of Air Liquide

François Jackow, Chief Executive Officer of Air Liquide, continued: “We address challenges with concrete actions that have a clear end goal: to make an impact. Achieving superior and sustainable results as a way to provide ourselves with the means to act with impact and in the long run for our people, our customers, our patients and, more widely, for the wellbeing of society.”

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