On Wednesday, German Transport Minister Patrick Schneider arrived at Toyota’s fuel cell factory in a German BMW iX5 Hydrogen, to later depart in a Japanese Toyota Crown FCEV. Of course, the choice of cars was no coincidence, as both vehicles generate electricity from hydrogen in fuel cells.
Car manufacturers BMW and Toyota are currently jointly developing the third generation of this drive technology. Three BMW employees have flown specifically to Japan to participate in this venture.
Both companies are contributing components to help develop more compact and efficient fuel cells. Once this phase is complete, BMW will manufacture this drive technology at an Austrian factory and Toyota will do the same at a Japanese production site. BMW plans to launch its first hydrogen series model in 2028. Toyota will also equip two of its existing Hydrogen Series models with the new system. However, exact details are not yet known.
complex challenges ahead
“The cooperation between Toyota and BMW on hydrogen is unprecedented for the further development of this drive technology,” Transport Minister Schneider told reporters after his visit to Toyota City. “We need to prepare hydrogen for serial production so that we do not depend only on batteries and fossil fuels and can create wider supply chains,” the minister said. Germany and Japan have been working together on this “extremely complex task” since launching their energy partnership in 2019, Schneider said.
Germany expects a sharp increase in demand for green hydrogen produced using electricity from renewable energy by 2030. It will be unable to meet this demand and thus will have to import large quantities of hydrogen.
Japan also plans to expand its hydrogen capacity to twelve million tons per year by 2040. However, it is also promoting the production of ammonia as a carrier of hydrogen. There are plans to add ammonia as a transitional fuel to conventional thermal power stations.
Hydrogen still remains the dominant fuel
The German minister’s visit to Japan revealed that both countries are still a long way from making green hydrogen a widely available fuel, especially in an industrial context. Schneider visited the world’s first terminal for liquid hydrogen in the port of Kobe, which has so far been used only for testing purposes. He then visited Kansai Airport in Osaka, where buses and forklift trucks run on fuel cells, although this was only as a pilot project.
Japan and Germany have recently intensified their hydrogen cooperation. Last September, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Toyota, Japanese power supplier Kepco, Daimler Trucks, Hamburg-based fuel supplier MB Energy and the Port of Hamburg agreed to set up a commercial hydrogen supply chain. Meanwhile, German and Japanese officials are exploring ways to finance a boost in hydrogen production that would help offset rising prices. After all, green hydrogen will be significantly more expensive than fossil fuels at first. Siemens Energy and Toray want to improve electrolysis technology for green hydrogen, while ThyssenKrupp Nucera is keen to enter the Japanese electrolysis market.
German fueling standards
Germany is one step ahead of Japan in providing hydrogen to power commercial vehicles. Earlier this year, Minister Schneider made a total of 220 million euros available to build 40 hydrogen filling stations across the country and put 400 hydrogen-powered trucks on the road. Meanwhile, Daimler Trucks has started operating Germany’s first liquid hydrogen refueling station for trucks.
Fuso, Daimler’s Japanese subsidiary, has also brought liquid hydrogen truck propulsion to Japan. However, Fuso has recently merged with Hino, Toyota’s commercial vehicle subsidiary. Now the new joint venture, known as Archean, is to coordinate their hydrogen truck offerings. About a year ago, Hino launched the Profia Z heavy-duty truck, which runs on the fuel cell of Toyota’s Mirai hydrogen car. However, the truck is fueled with compressed hydrogen.
In Germany, the plan is for three quarters of newly registered heavy commercial vehicles to run on emissions-free fuel by 2030. “The majority of batteries will be electric, but a significant proportion will run on hydrogen,” Minister Schneider told reporters. Japan, meanwhile, has not set any comparable target.
Daimler wants to install its liquid hydrogen refueling system co-developed with Linde in Japan with the help of a new Arcion joint venture to provide liquid hydrogen for trucks there. So far, Japan only has filling stations for compressed hydrogen. Fuso’s H2FC truck – Japan’s first truck to run on liquid hydrogen – will therefore remain a concept vehicle for the time being.
This article was translated from German.