Heavy-Duty Fuel Cell Electric Truck Verification Tests to Start in Spring 2022

Oct. 13, 2020

Asahi Group Holdings, Ltd. (Asahi Group), Seino Transportation Co., Ltd. (Seino Transportation), NEXT Logistics Japan Co., Ltd. (NLJ), Yamato Transport Co., Ltd. (Yamato Transport), Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota), and Hino Motors, Ltd. (Hino) have agreed to conduct on-the-road trials of heavy-duty fuel cell electric trucks (heavy-duty FCETs) starting in spring of 2022, accelerating the early commercial application of heavy-duty FCETs and contributing to the development of a sustainable society. This may be achieved, at least in part, by reducing CO2 emissions from heavy-duty FCETs, which account for approximately 70 percent of all CO2 emissions from commercial vehicles in Japan. Toyota and Hino are jointly developing heavy-duty FCETs, and Asahi Group, NLJ, Seino Transportation, Yamato Transport, and Toyota will perform the road trials in their logistics operations.

Overview of the Trials

Scheduled start
Spring 2022
Proposed transportation details and driving routes

Asahi Group & NLJ	Asahi Group will load the trucks with beer and soft drinks produced at its Ibaraki Brewery and whisky, spirits, wine, and other products from Asahi Breweries Heiwajima Delivery Center. The products will be unloaded at NLJ Sagamihara Center, and cargo from Kansai will be retrieved and returned to the Ibaraki Brewery. Asahi Breweries Ibaraki Brewery (Moriya City, Ibaraki Prefecture) → Asahi Breweries Heiwajima Delivery Center (Ota-ku, Tokyo) → NLJ Sagamihara Center (Sagamihara City, Kanagawa Prefecture) → Asahi Breweries Ibaraki Brewery
Seino Transportation	Cargo will be transported from the Tokyo Branch to the Sagamihara Branch and the Odawara Branch. Tokyo Branch (Koto-ku, Tokyo) → Sagamihara Branch (Sagamihara City, Kanagawa Prefecture) → Odawara Branch (Odawara City, Kanagawa Prefecture) → Tokyo Branch
Yamato Transport	Transport of collected parcels and other packages between the Haneda Chronogate Base^* and the Gunma Base^* Haneda Chronogate Base (Ota-ku, Tokyo) ⇔ Gunma Base (Maebashi City, Gunma Prefecture) ^*A base is a facility that functions as a parcel sorting and highway transportation hub.
Toyota	Transportation of parts between Toyota plants in Aichi Prefecture and Toyota Tobishima Logistics Center Toyota plants (Aichi Prefecture) ⇔ Toyota Tobishima Logistics Center (Nagoya Port)

Logistics operation Map

: Heavy-duty FCETs (rendering)

For referenceVehicle outline

Vehicle	Base model	Hino Profia FR1AWHG
	Length / width / height	11,990 / 2,490 / 3,780 mm
	Total vehicle weight	25 t
FC stack	Name (type)	Toyota FC Stack (Polymer electrolyte fuel cell)
Motor	Type	AC synchronous
High-pressure hydrogen tank		Developing a new large capacity high pressure (70MPa) hydrogen tank
Battery	Type	Lithium ion battery
Cruising range (proposed)		Approx. 600 km in integrated city and highway driving cycle; Toyota and Hino internal measurements

The heavy-duty FCETs used in highway transportation must have adequate range and load capacity as well as being able to refuel quickly. Fuel cell systems, which are powered by high-energy-density hydrogen, are believed to be effective for the electrification of heavy-duty trucks. The heavy-duty FCETs that will be developed are anticipated to have a target range of approximately 600 km. The objective is to meet high standards for both environmental performance and practicality as a commercial vehicle.

Each of the companies participating in the trials have positioned global environmental issues as key management issues, and are taking various actions including reducing energy consumption in manufacturing processes and reducing environmental impact in logistics operations. Going forward, each company will accelerate its efforts for early practical application of heavy-duty FCETs with the aim of contributing to the development of a sustainable society.

*	Trucks and buses with gross vehicle weight of over 3.5 tons, according to research by Hino, as of September 30, 2020.

Tags: Electric Truck Verification Tests

Heavy-Duty Fuel Cell Electric Truck Verification Tests to Start in Spring 2022

Overview of the Trials

For referenceVehicle outline

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