Toyota HD truck in use for Coca-Cola (Photo: Toyota)

Toyota is working with Coca-Cola and Air Liquide on a pilot program for a new heavy-duty truck powered by hydrogen fuel cells.

The trucks are intended to serve as a proof of concept and demonstrate the efficiency of fuel cell technology and its feasibility in the transport sector.

Thiebault Pacquet, Vice President of Research and Development at Toyota Motor Europe, commented: “The insights from these proof-of-concept studies will serve as critical milestones on our path to achieving zero carbon emissions in our logistics operations by 2040.”

The fuel cells generate electricity through a chemical reaction. This energy is stored in on-board batteries and supplies the drive wheels and other on-board systems with power. The only byproduct is water.

The use of fuel cell technology is intended to help reduce the CO2 footprint in long-distance logistics and at the same time promote the development of an infrastructure for refueling hydrogen.

As part of the test, Coca-Cola will use the trucks for supply runs, while Air Liquide will supply the hydrogen fuel produced using renewable energy, also known as “green” hydrogen.

Erwin Penfornis, Vice President of the Hydrogen Energy World Business Line at Air Liquide, said: “Air Liquide shares the same ambitions as Coca-Cola and Toyota: to implement concrete solutions to meet the challenges of the energy transition.

“This joint project is part of such an approach and will demonstrate the importance of hydrogen for heavy-duty mobility. Given the growing demand for products with a low carbon footprint, hydrogen is particularly well suited to long-distance transport as it offers flexibility and productivity.”

While hydrogen fuel cell-powered trucks offer a way to make logistics operations emission-free, there are also some drawbacks. The technology remains expensive, the availability of green hydrogen is very limited, and the cost per kilo remains high.

On the positive side, trucks operating from hubs offer a good opportunity to deploy the technology, as hydrogen can be delivered to these depot filling stations relatively easily.