Despite obvious doubts, Toyota still believes there is room for hydrogen cars in Europe. That's why the Japanese are now rolling out hydrogen stations.
Toyota plans to establish a network of hydrogen stations across Europe. The goal is to make refueling hydrogen vehicles easier and faster.
To achieve this goal, Toyota has partnered with Hydrogen Refueling Solutions (HRS) and ENGIE to develop and deploy a new generation of hydrogen refueling stations.
The new technology, called Twin Mid Flow, significantly reduces refueling times. Trucks can refuel with hydrogen for a range of 600 km in just 8 minutes, and passenger cars can be refueled in under 5 minutes.
"The development of Twin Mid Flow technology is an important step in our efforts to stimulate the growth of hydrogen ecosystems. We are excited about this new partnership," said Thiebault Paquet, Director of Research and Development at Toyota in Europe, in a press release .
In addition to faster refueling, the new technology is also more cost-effective. This is an important step towards making hydrogen a real alternative to fossil fuels.
The EU has set a target of establishing hydrogen stations every 200 km along the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) by 2030. Toyota's initiative contributes to achieving this goal.
HRS also sees the collaboration as an important milestone.
– The strategic partnership with Toyota and ENGIE marks a decisive step in the innovation of the infrastructure for refueling hydrogen vehicles.
– By combining our expertise, we will accelerate the rollout of hydrogen refueling stations across Europe and the world and reduce the time spent refueling, making refueling stations both more accessible and more cost-effective, says Hassen Rachedi, CEO and founder of Hydrogen Refueling Solutions.
The new technology is currently being tested in the EU-funded RHeaDHy project, which focuses on developing and testing solutions that can help establish an efficient infrastructure for hydrogen vehicles.
A new EU regulation could also force Denmark to reopen the currently closed hydrogen stations in the country. The last ones disappeared in September 2023. Read more about it here .
Despite the new hydrogen stations, Toyota has been quite open about the fact that the technology has not yet achieved the breakthrough the Japanese had envisioned. Furthermore, hydrogen cars lack general support.
The Japanese, in turn, hope to get it from BMW, which will start the brand's first series production of hydrogen cars in 2028. With Toyota's help.
