2023 EU Hydrogen week: Fast track to the future

Europe shows confidence in hydrogen and so do we at Toyota!

30/11/2023

Toyota stands with strong presence for the second year in a row in Europe’s Hydrogen week Expo event in Brussels, showcasing the fuel cell modules, explaining their multiple uses, and displaying the Mirai and Hilux FCEV prototype.

Putting hydrogen on the energy map

Hydrogen is little by little redrawing Europe’s energy map and playing a key role in the energy transition. Due to the energy crisis that Europe is facing, more companies and investors prioritise hydrogen in the race to reach the Paris agreement targets. However, knowledge sharing is a must to mitigate any risk behind every business decision. For that reason, for the second consecutive year, leaders, policy makers, researchers, companies, and end users join in EU’s Hydrogen Week to stimulate networking opportunities and get informed about the most pressing topic regarding this new industry.

“The energy crisis that Europe has faced so far, especially due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, has shown how dependent we are.

Hydrogen can be produced in Europe, mainly in countries that have a lot of wind and a lot of solar, so Spain, or Ireland, or Denmark… are perfect countries for the production of hydrogen"

Said CEO of Hydrogen Europe, Jorgo Chatzimarkakis

Our ongoing journey to a cleaner society

As mentioned, this hasn’t been Toyota’s first attendance to the European Hydrogen week. During last year’s edition our company offered among others a Mirai “shuttle”, and an exposition of our TFCM2-F fuel cell module and its possible applications. This year, we strengthened the message of the importance of hydrogen passenger cars by displaying the Mirai and, thanks to TMUK, also the FC Hilux prototype. Not only that, our co-operation partner BMW displayed the iX5 hydrogen car next to our booth. The event was a success and a melting pot of ideas for the future!

Europe’s joint commitment

With a stand three times bigger versus last year, fuel cell electric vehicles, a wider range of fuel cell applications and a panel discussion involving Gerald Killmann, Senior Vice President, R&D and Hydrogen Factory Europe, our participation in this year’s event has been greater than ever. Toyota stepped up the activities in Hydrogen Europe as Stephan Herbst, Technical Head Hydrogen, was elected chair of the Mobility Working Group. A key discussion point was how to accelerate the roll-out of an EU wide hydrogen infrastructure based on the AFIR (Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulations)¹

A new life for today’s mobility solutions

Hydrogen has already made his entrance in mobility and power applications as it is an energy source for trucks, buses, coaches, trains and boats. Therefore, to further propel this conversion, EU is set to launch the world’s first hydrogen bank, making 800 million euros available from the European funds to help the industry and incentivise private investment. Finally, although there is still work to be done, some projects, like Germany’s 400-mile pipeline or Spain’s and France’s underwater green hydrogen pipeline are already underway to make hydrogen more accessible for the future.