Air Liquide, CaetanoBus and Toyota Motor Europe have signed a MoU to develop integrated H2 solutions. This will include infrastructure development and vehicle fleets, to accelerate the expansion of H2 mobility for both light and heavy-duty vehicles. The partnership reflects the shared ambition of the three partners to contribute to decarbonizing transport and accelerate the development of local H2 ecosystems for multiple mobility applications.
The three companies will use their complementary expertise to address the entire value chain of H2 mobility, ranging from renewable or low-carbon H2 production, distribution and refueling infrastructure to the deployment of different vehicle segments. Initially, the focus will be on buses, light commercial vehicles and cars, with the further aim to accelerate the heavy-duty truck segment.
By exploring joint opportunities, the three major players of H2 mobility will contribute to the emergence of new H2 ecosystems across Europe, a key step to stimulate the demand and facilitate H2 access for other mobility applications. This includes the infrastructure and refueling stations, as well as integrated vehicle offers (leasing and service) to customers such as taxi companies, fleet operators, local authorities and others. The integration of different applications and projects within a H2 ecosystem, where supply and demand meet, will enable the overall H2 infrastructure to further mature. This initiative represents another step along the path of decarbonization, which is consistent with the stronger focus from European governments and the readiness of H2 technologies.
Matthieu Giard, Vice President, member of the Executive Committee of Air Liquide, notably supervising H2 activities said, “As a key solution to reduce CO2 emissions of the mobility sector, low-carbon H2 is a crucial enabler of the energy transition. Air Liquide is pleased to partner with Toyota and CaetanoBus. Such partnerships are essential to create efficient ecosystems that will foster the emergence of H2 mobility in Europe. Air Liquide has been committed for more than 50 years to develop the entire H2 value chain and will bring its expertise in both the production of low-carbon H2 and the development of H2 mobility infrastructures. This partnership illustrates the capacity of the industry to bring concrete solutions to the fight against climate change.”
Matt Harrison, President and CEO at Toyota Motor Europe said, “We are excited by the opportunity to combine our strengths to expand the development of H2 clusters. Toyota’s role is to bring the H2 applications into the ecosystem, and by working together with our partners we want to accelerate and intensify the use of H2 as a carbon neutral solution for mobility. This will gradually reduce the costs of H2 and its infrastructure while improving the business case for many future applications including mobility.”
Patrícia Vasconcelos, CEO of CaetanoBus said, “It is a great pleasure to work on H2 projects with these partners and have the chance to reinforce the role of new forms of energy in the pursuit of a sustainable way of living. We are aware of the responsibility of the mobility sector in this mission and our goal as a bus manufacturer is to continuously develop new H2 buses, to reduce the carbon footprint in the cities. If we can do It in partnership to create a full ecosystem, the better it is, because energy transitions are only effective with true alignment between companies, countries, and policies.”
