Toyota Is Planning To Build A New Fuel Cell Factory In Japan

Toyota, which is one of the pioneers of hydrogen powered vehicles, will establish a production facility for fuel cell stacks in Japan.

The plant will be located on the grounds of the existing Honsha factory in Toyota City. A corresponding facility to build tanks for storing high-pressure hydrogen will be located at the nearby Shimoyama plant.

Although hydrogen vehicles have been much slower to take off than electric vehicles, Toyota remains committed to the technology. The Japanese automaker says “as a technology, fuel cells are mature and ready to scale up” and that to encourage more widespread use of hydrogen vehicles, popularization needs to start by the 2020s.

With this in mind, Toyota intends on increasing the number of markets where the Mirai FCV is sold. At the moment, it is available in Japan, the United States, and nine countries in Europe. Tests are currently being conducted to bring the car to Australia, Canada, China and the UAE.

“Going forward, Toyota will expand its FCEV product range and continue to strengthen product appeal, aiming to bring the cost down. Also, we will keep working with Toyota Group and other companies to develop a hydrogen supply infrastructure and construct a low-carbon hydrogen supply chain,” the automaker stated.