VDL Groep reveals hydrogen fuel cell truck for Toyota’s European logistics

Following the collaboration between Toyota Motor Europe and VDL Groep announced last May, the companies have now launched their first fuel cell demo truck. By integrating Toyota’s fuel cell technology into VDL heavy-duty trucks, Toyota aims to decarbonise its logistic operations in Europe.

VDL Groep has converted an existing heavy-duty truck into a zero-emission carrier using Toyota fuel cell modules. The lower mass of hydrogen systems allows a higher payload and the fast refueling of hydrogen is essential for high utilization transport. Hydrogen can refuel a truck as quickly as diesel, and the usage patterns of trucks, with their demand for larger volumes of hydrogen, position them as key contributors to the maturation of sustainable infrastructures around major routes.

This first demo truck will be used to perform road testing and evaluation of improvements towards the next steps of the project. VDL Groep is preparing four more fuel cell trucks, which will be used by Toyota’s logistic providers VOS Transport Group, CEVA, Groupe CAT and Yusen. These transportation companies will contribute to the project by using the hydrogen trucks on their daily logistics routes passing by Belgium (Antwerp), France (Lille), Germany (Cologne), and the Netherlands (Amsterdam and Rotterdam). The four routes have at least one hydrogen refuelling station (HRS) each, including back-up solutions.

The cooperation between all parties is expected to consolidate the learnings on how to deploy fuel cell trucks on public roads and contribute to Europe’s ecological energy transition. The 5-year trial is expected to stimulate the further development of a sustainable hydrogen infrastructure across Europe meeting the AFIR (European Union alternative fuels infrastructure regulation) requirements and allow for more carbon neutral hydrogen mobility solutions to emerge. 

This project is complementing Toyota’s initiatives to decarbonise logistics and supporting their long-term goal to become fully carbon-neutral by 2040. Beyond the electrification of passenger cars, the company sees high value in collaborating with multiple partners to accelerate the transition to a sustainable and accessible zero-emission hydrogen economy.

VDL Special Vehicles is part of the international VDL Groep and is based in the Brainport region of Eindhoven, the Netherlands. The company specializes in battery electric and hydrogen solutions for on- and off-road vehicles. As a contract manufacturer, VDL provides production capacity for small to medium series of zero emission vehicles.

Source: Toyota