Isuzu Motors, DENSO Corporation, Toyota, Hino Motors, and Commercial Japan Partnership Technologies Corporation (CJPT) together have announced the starting of planning and foundational research on hydrogen engines for heavy-duty commercial vehicles.
The companies envision ICE as one among a variety of options to customers to help achieve carbon neutrality in the commercial transportation sector.
They claim that CO2 reduction in transportation and logistics by heavy-duty commercial vehicles is a social issue that needs to be addressed together with partners who share a common vision toward achieving a carbon neutral society. The companies believe that hydrogen engines are one solution to this issue.
The companies will utilize the technologies and know-how each company has accumulated to study the potential of hydrogen engines in heavy-duty commercial vehicles.
Hydrogen engine, akin to petrol or diesel-powered ICEs, promise compact and affordable powertrain solutions for heavy-duty applications, which can be easily adapted in the existing vehicle and engineering designs, unlike fuel-cell systems that require vehicle development from scratch.
The hydrogen combustion engine technology is evolving, and many companies including Toyota (Corolla H2 Concept) have already presented their concept vehicles in this regard.
With efforts toward achieving a hydrogen society are further accelerating, such as the increase in the number of partners in producing, transporting, and using hydrogen, the companies believe that hydrogen engines can be one effective option to leverage the emerging H2 ecosystem for mobility applications.
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