Toyota and VDL have jointly integrated Toyota’s fuel cell technology into further heavy-duty trucks. Following the successful deployment of an initial demonstration vehicle, four more trucks are now being tested in daily logistics operations on international routes.
Toyota Motor Europe and the VDL Group have announced that four more BZ trucks with Japanese technology are now travelling on routes between Diest (Belgium), Lille (France), Cologne and the Dutch cities of Rotterdam and Weesp. Specifically, the 40-tonne quartet will be deployed by Toyota together with logistics partners Vos Transport Group, CEVA, Groupe CAT and Yusen in a European logistics network around the Toyota Parts Centre Europe. There is at least one hydrogen refuelling station along each of the routes, including back-up solutions for unexpected incidents.
According to the Japanese company, the trucks should offer comparable performance to diesel vehicles and travel up to 400 kilometres on a single tank (‘under real conditions’). “This initiative is in line with Toyota’s goal to reach carbon neutrality in its logistics operations by 2040, but it also aims to contribute to growing the hydrogen economy,” commented Thiebault Paquet, Vice President R&D at Toyota Motor Europe. “Heavy-duty fuel cell trucks can boost the demand for hydrogen, which is one of the key contributors along with the implementation of the EU’s Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Regulation (AFIR). Together with our logistics providers, we aim to gather learnings from the daily operation of our first hydrogen-powered logistics fleet and further improve the vehicles and operational processes.”
Toyota and VDL signed a cooperation agreement in the field of fuel cell trucks in May 2023 and unveiled the first prototype a few months later. The partners announced the four additional fuel cell trucks at the time. According to those responsible, the collaboration between all parties involved is intended to “deepen the knowledge about the use of fuel cell trucks on public roads.” The field trial is scheduled to run for five years.
Toyota is still not providing any technical data on the VDL hydrogen lorries. Toyota’s well-known fuel cell module for third-party customers is available in two versions for vertical or horizontal installation, depending on the available installation space. This is the second hydrogen fuel cell drive generation from the Japanese company. The modules are each available with a rated output of 60 or 80 kW and are designed to cover a voltage range of 400 to 750 volts. Two of these modules are probably necessary for the power requirements of a lorry. However, no data is known about the electric drive, the buffer battery or the H2 tanks. The published press images only show that the cylindrical hydrogen tanks are stacked behind the cab, as is usual for most hydrogen trucks.
In the meantime, Toyota has also presented the third generation of its fuel cell system, which is intended for use in cars, commercial vehicles, trains, ships and stationary applications. The market launch is planned for 2026. However, the Japanese are still withholding detailed information. When the plans were announced in February, it was only stated that durability had been improved by a factor of 2 and efficiency by a factor of 1.2 compared to the second generation, which enables a 20 per cent greater range, according to Toyota.
The third-generation fuel cell system is to be launched mainly in Japan, Europe, North America and China from 2026. The third-party customer base is broadly diversified: In the passenger car sector, BMW is known to be a Toyota partner, while the Portuguese manufacturer Caetano Bus or Karsan from Turkey use the Toyota systems for buses. In the truck sector, customers include VDL, Paccar and Hyliko.
