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Toyota Working on Hydrogen-Powered Hilux Pickup, Testing Starts in 2023

Toyota is still reluctant to go all-in with battery-electric vehicles and is trying to get the most out of the fuel-cell drivetrain it pioneered with the Mirai. This time, the Japanese carmaker announced a consortium to get funding from the UK government to develop a fuel-cell pickup truck.
Toyota works on a hydrogen-powered pickup truck that uses Mirai’s fuel cell technology 6 photos
Photo: Toyota
Toyota works on a hydrogen-powered pickup truck that uses Mirai’s fuel cell technologyToyota works on a hydrogen-powered pickup truck that uses Mirai’s fuel cell technologyToyota works on a hydrogen-powered pickup truck that uses Mirai’s fuel cell technologyToyota GR Yaris Hydrogen ConceptToyota Mirai
When it comes to electrification, Toyota continues to go against the industry trends like a gambler who is aware of losing but still doubles down, hoping the tides might turn. The maker of the fuel-cell powered Mirai wants to develop the hydrogen fuel-cell technology further and transplant it into a Hilux pickup truck. But instead of betting its own money, Toyota established a consortium with four other British companies to receive funding from the UK government.

Toyota would not admit to this and claims instead that it needed the expertise of these companies. According to Toyota’s press release, Ricardo is a consultancy that will “support the technical integration of the fuel cell components into the Hilux chassis.” ETL will contribute its thermal management solutions to the project, while D2H will bring its thermodynamic expertise. Finally, Thatcham Research will help with crash safety and insurance ratings.

Of course, Toyota couldn’t have done it without them, and I don’t mean developing the fuel-cell Hilux. Toyota has enough experience with engineering a fuel-cell vehicle. But despite that, we’re fairly certain it couldn’t have obtained UK government funding without involving these British companies in the project.

Toyota applied for funding through the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) for zero-emissions vehicle development a year ago. The funds will cover the development of a fuel cell-powered Hilux prototype using second-generation Toyota fuel cell components like those in the latest Toyota Mirai. The project is led by Toyota Motor Manufacturing UK (TMUK) with technical support from Toyota Motor Europe (TME) to “enable the UK-based teams to build its own expertise and self-sufficiency to develop next-generation hydrogen drivetrain capabilities.”

Toyota still believes hydrogen fuel cells can be used to decarbonize transportation sectors where battery-electric vehicles are unsuitable. After seeing Caterpillar demonstrating a battery-electric giant mining truck, we wondered what those sectors could be. Nevertheless, Toyota will produce the fuel-cell Hilux prototypes at the TMUK site in Burnaston in 2023. Eventually, if successful, the project will move to small series production.
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About the author: Cristian Agatie
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After his childhood dream of becoming a "tractor operator" didn't pan out, Cristian turned to journalism, first in print and later moving to online media. His top interests are electric vehicles and new energy solutions.
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