Toyota Hydrogen technology at the forefront of innovation



Globally, Toyota is investing in hydrogen technology as a part of our commitment to reducing carbon emissions, pledging to be carbon neutral here in New Zealand by 2050.

To make this a reality, we are exploring sustainable new technologies and The Toyota Hydrogen Projects is just one of these. In April of this year, Toyota New Zealand partnered with eight key organizations based in Auckland, namely The Warehouse, Air New Zealand, Saatchi & Saatchi, TVNZ, Beca, Westpac NZ, Spark and Z Energy, in a car-sharing scheme.

The project is a first of its kind in that these companies have joined together to demonstrate the possibilities of large companies sharing their fleets. Reducing the number of vehicles used between these companies on its own would lead to reductions in carbon emissions; but what makes this program even more unique is that these shared vehicles, the Toyota Mirai, are all refueled using renewable green hydrogen!

Hydrogen infrastructure is still in its infancy in New Zealand, the trial hydrogen car sharing scheme was established as a catalyst for a burgeoning hydrogen export market. New Zealand is well positioned to grow its use of renewable energy, with the right investment, that could be sustainably used to produce green hydrogen as a next generation fuel.

Toyota sees the long-term use of hydrogen in broader applications than just the automotive industry. Hydrogen can store more energy in less weight, making the Toyota fuel cell system suitable for vehicles with heavy payloads and long ranges. Fast refuelling also benefits commercial fleets and other vehicles in near-continuous use such as straddle carriers, forklifts, taxis, and car-sharing schemes.

Another Hydrogen Project is a continuation of the longstanding partnership with Emirates Team New Zealand. Toyota has backed the incredible innovation that drives Emirates Team New Zealand (ETNZ) for more than three decades, and the latest collaboration has seen Toyota New Zealand supplying ETNZ with Toyota Motor Corporation’s hydrogen fuel cell system to investigate the different applications of this carbon neutral technology.

Toyota Motor Corporation have supported TNZ to provide two prototype units for the ETNZ trial that were still in their preproduction phase. The prototype of Toyota’s hydrogen fuel cell system will be trialed to be the power behind ETNZ's chase boat which is capable of cruising at around 35 knots and nudging a top speed of 50 knots.

Partnering with ETNZ on this incredible project gives us an avenue to discover all the exciting new ways we can use this carbon-neutral technology.

Hydrogen is just one of one of many new powertrain options being developed by Toyota in its transition to a low carbon future and is not a distraction for their BEV technology for their light vehicles; rather this diversity ensures resilience in the changing industry. Further proof of Toyota’s investment in BEV technology is the revealing of 16 new battery electric models and committed to producing 3.5 million electric vehicles cars per year by 2030. Click here to watch a video of the revealing of the electric models.

Toyota believes that hybrids remain the best alternative today to start the CO2 reduction journey with new hybrids nearing price parity with petrol versions. They are also more abundant on the used vehicle market than ever before. Hybrids have contributed to an average CO2 reduction of 20g/100kms across the hybrid Toyota range. As a result, Toyota is on track to meet its Clean Car CO2 target of 164gm/km before the target date of 2023.Toyota currently offer a hybrid version in eight of their model ranges – from the small compact Yaris, through to the 7-seater Highlander Hybrid with various options and specifications. Read more about Toyota hybrid range here.

The bZ4x, Toyota's new range of full battery electric vehicles will be available in New Zealand towards the end of 2022. The bz is a part of Toyota's Beyond Zero range, which is focused on achieving carbon neutrality. More information on this new range of fully electric vehicles will become available closer to the launch date. If you want to be kept up-to-date please email us here.