Even though Europe is further down the track to zero emission vehicles, more than 70 per cent of Europe’s freight is still transported by predominantly diesel-powered heavy-duty vehicles, with just 0ne percent reportedly using alternative zero emission powertrains.
Despite accounting for only about two per cent of Europe’s automobile parking lot, heavy trucks are the second-largest contributors to transport CO2 emissions, and to this end Toyota believes hydrogen fuel could be the solution to cleaner and greener heavy transport.
Hydrogen has the potential to fuel heavy-duty vehicles with net-zero emissions, however Toyota points out that transitioning to hydrogen is currently challenging, largely due to the limited hydrogen infrastructure available on The Continent.
Toyota has announced it is piloting a new hydrogen fuel cell long-haul truck in collaboration with Coca-Cola and Air Liquide.
Toyota Motor Europe’s vice president for research and development, Thiebault Paquet said that to help speed up the expansion of hydrogen technology implementation in society, it is expanding the use of its Toyota Fuel Cell Module beyond passenger cars into trucks, buses, coaches, trains, boats, near-shore and short-sea vessels and stationary generators in 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,” Paquet said.
Toyota Motor Europe says it has provided a proof-of-concept hydrogen truck to demonstrate the efficiency of its hydrogen fuel cell technology in heavy-duty transport. which is an initiative that is part of Coca-Cola’s efforts to decarbonise its logistics, while fellow partner, Air Liquide will supply the renewable-origin hydrogen for the project.
The truck’s fuel cell combines hydrogen and oxygen to generate electricity, with water as the only by-product, resulting in zero tailpipe emissions. Hydrogen fuel cells also offer relatively quick refuelling, making them a more convenient option than plugging in and charging heavy banks of batteries with electricity.
Toyota claims its sustainability goals date back to the 1960s, and added that its latest initiative is the Toyota Environmental Challenge 2050, .which aims for global carbon neutrality by 2050, encompassing all vehicles and operations.
The company also says that additional goals include improving water usage, promoting recycling technologies, and biodiversity conservation.
Toyota’s chief Sustainability Officer Yumi Otsuka, said that as the company navigates 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, which he says will pave the way for a greener and more sustainable future.
Toyota says it is currently showcasing its sustainable solutions at the current Paris Olympic Games, with the company providing 500 Mirai hydrogen fuel cell cars and 2,650 electric vehicles for the event.
Coca-Cola says it aims to cut carbon emissions by 25 per cent by 2030, focusing on climate action, water stewardship, products and sustainable packaging.
The Coca-Cola Company’s executive vice president and chief communications, sustainability and strategic partnerships officer Bea Perez, said that its sustainability goals and initiatives are focused on areas where it 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,” Perez said.
Coca-Cola plans that by 2025 for 100 per cent of its packaging will be recyclable and also that it aims to collect and recycle a bottle or can for each one it sells by 2030. The company also claims it has already exceeded its water replenishment goal five years ahead of schedule.
Coca-Cola’s vice president for Paris 2024 operations and sustainability, Eric Desbonnets said the company is pleased to partner with Toyota and Air Liquide to test hydrogen solutions for its long-distance logistics operations.
“We want to learn from this experience as we continue to work towards reducing our carbon footprint,” Desbonnets said.
Air Liquide, which is a French multinational company that is a global leader in industrial gases and services, is also supporting the Toyota/Coca-Cola hydrogen initiative.
Air Liquide’s vice president of hydrogen energy world business line, Erwin Penfornis, said that the company shares the same ambition as Coca-Cola and Toyota.
“We aim to implement concrete solutions to meet the challenge of climate change, and this project is part of such an approach and will demonstrate the relevance of hydrogen for heavy-duty mobility,” Penfornis said.
“With a growing call for products with low-carbon transportation footprint, hydrogen is particularly well-suited to long-distance transportation, providing flexibility and productivity,” he added.
Air Liquide is the official hydrogen supporter of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, and is supplying renewable-origin hydrogen for electro-hydrogen generators in competition venues and for the more than 500 hydrogen-powered vehicles being used at the games.
Air Liquide’s CEO, François Jackow, said the company is addressing challenges with concrete actions that have a clear end goal and aims 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,” Jackow said.
