Toyota Opens The Possibility Of Hydrogen Fuel Cell Technology In Tundra

Photo: Toyota Tundra (source: Toyota USA)

JAKARTA - It's no secret that Japanese manufacturers like Toyota are left behind in terms of electrification. This is because the company believes that hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) are the future of zero-emission mobility.

Currently, the company founded by Kiichiro Toyoda has produced Mirai's only fuel cell car in several markets. Although its popularity is still small, Toyota intends to add vehicles to this segment in pickup or truck form.

Toyota North America (TMNA) Chief Engineer & VP R&D Jay Soett, said that pickup trucks are very likely to be used as FCV cars by requiring large amounts of batteries. He also mentioned that one of the models suitable for this technology is Tundra.

The pickup truck owner also wants fast refueling. Hydrogen allows you to do that and can fill it like gasoline, "Sackett was quoted as saying by Automotive News rewritten by InsideEVs, Saturday, May 4.

This is reinforced by the words of TMNA Vice President Powertrain Jordan Choby, who said that his party already has the pickup truck in Japan as a vehicle for riding hydrogen-fueled racing cars.

"We have Tundra fuel cells in Japan that we use to pull hydrogen-fueled racing cars," Choby explained.

The Japanese manufacturer has previously presented Hilux, which is a truck pickup in the FCV version in the UK. This is the result of a collaboration with the British government of 70 million pounds or around IDR 1.3 trillion to present a zero-emission vehicle that is suitable for various purposes in remote areas in the UK.

This hydrogen-powered variant began to be developed in early 2022 and uses components from Toyota's second-generation hydrogen fuel cell system.

The existing system on Hilux is the same as the latest Toyota Mirai, allowing it to reach a range of more than 365 miles or 587 km. This makes it suitable for commercial operations in remote areas where electric vehicle charging is impractical.