Change is inevitable in the automotive industry. The days of gasoline and diesel internal combustion vehicles are numbered, and there is a clear trend, supported by the environmental policies of the European Union and other economic powers such as China and the United States, to replace them with zero-emission vehicles. This is the case with electric cars, which use lithium batteries to power their engines.
However, companies like Japan’s Toyota are researching and investing in alternatives that could replace lithium-ion batteries, such as hydrogen fuel cell technology. At least in Europe, it wants to go further by partnering with European companies to promote heavy-duty transportation using hydrogen and expand the network of refueling stations that supply these vehicles.
Toyota, Europe, and hydrogen cars
Toyota has pioneered the development of zero-emission cars powered by hydrogen fuel cells. Proof of this is the Toyota Mirai, which uses second-generation hydrogen fuel cells, and the Japanese company is already working on the third generation of this technology.
In addition, the company has decided to focus its efforts on promoting this technology on the continent through its “Toyota Hydrogen Factory” project, which, according to the company’s press release, “aims to ensure a coordinated approach to the commercialization of hydrogen technology and systems, from development and production to sales and after-sales service.”
Evolution in heavy-duty transportation
In addition to improving and increasing the efficiency of fuel cells, Toyota is targeting heavy-duty transportation with the third generation of fuel cells: buses and freight trucks using this hydrogen-based technology. This is a natural way to reduce the environmental impact of transporting goods and products on European roads, starting with those in France and the Netherlands.
In this regard, Toyota has partnered with the Dutch trucking company VDL to convert existing heavy-duty trucks into zero-emission vehicles using Toyota’s fuel cell modules. The partnership between the two companies also includes expanding the network of hydrogen stations that supply these types of vehicles in France and the Netherlands.
The use of hydrogen as a clean, alternative energy source in Europe has been boosted by French researchers' recent discovery of a white hydrogen deposit. This clean, natural energy source on the border between France and Germany could further boost the use of hydrogen as a fuel in Europe.
Why hydrogen as an alternative to lithium batteries?
While the technology still faces some technical and economic hurdles related to fuel storage and the cost of manufacturing hydrogen cell modules, it also offers numerous advantages over electric cars powered by lithium batteries.
Lithium is known to be a relatively abundant material, and the prospect is that once electric car production becomes widespread, lithium supplies will be significantly depleted in a few years and become increasingly expensive. Hydrogen is the opposite: it is the most abundant element in the universe. Therefore, technologies to produce it as a fuel, store it, and use it to generate electricity to power car and truck engines are becoming more technologically and economically feasible.