First commercial application of hydrogen

Date: 02.06.2022

The system is suitable for vehicles with heavy payloads and long ranges

The system is suitable for vehicles with heavy payloads and long ranges

Eight well-known local businesses have partnered up and will be sharing a fleet of hydrogen-powered Toyota vehicles

The collaboration is the first commercial application of hydrogen fuel cell technology in the country.

Toyota has partnered with eight organisations to join them in a car-sharing scheme, which started at the beginning of May 2022. The companies are: The Warehouse, Air New Zealand, Saatchi & Saatchi, TVNZ, Beca, Westpac NZ, Spark, and Z Energy. The vehicles will all be refuelled using green hydrogen.

Toyota New Zealand chief executive Neeraj Lala says Toyota is focused on looking at other opportunities to trial the applications of hydrogen technology outside of the automotive sector.

"Hydrogen fuel cell technology is another step in the journey to a zero-emissions transport eco-system. The commercial application of this technology is vast and Toyota has the means to explore new technologies," he says.

Neeraj says as hydrogen infrastructure is still in its infancy in New Zealand, the trial hydrogen car sharing scheme was established as a catalyst for a burgeoning hydrogen export market, with Toyota seeing the long-term use of hydrogen in broader applications than the automotive industry.

"We are striving to share technologies and systems as it is our belief that environmental technologies should not be monopolised, while helping to contribute to the reduction of C02 emissions through becoming a technology systems supplier."

Hydrogen can store more energy in less weight, making the Toyota fuel cell system suitable for vehicles with heavy payloads and long ranges. Fast refuelling also benefits commercial fleets and other vehicles in near-continuous use such as straddle carriers, forklifts, taxis, and car-sharing schemes, Toyota says.

"Toyota is keeping many options open and is not committed to one fuel source or technology," says Neeraj. "It is more important to adapt to changes in the future than trying to predict the future. With the pace of change accelerating due to technological innovation, predicting the future becomes increasingly difficult."

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