- Toyota Spain and Repsol have signed an agreement to promote the expansion of hydrogen-based mobility
- Customers of Toyota fuel cell vehicle fleets will have access to a hydrogen refueling solution provided by Repsol, which will be developed over the next few years
Toyota Spain and Repsol have among their main lines of action the promotion of net-zero emission technologies to contribute to the decarbonization of society. This shared ambition has led both companies to sign a collaboration agreement to promote the use of renewable hydrogen to decarbonize transportation in the coming years.
Through this agreement, Repsol and Toyota Spain will offer their customers a comprehensive solution for hydrogen-based mobility, which includes Toyota vehicles with hydrogen fuel cells powered by renewable hydrogen available in the Spanish market since 2015 and updated in their latest version launched since 2021. These vehicles will be able to use some of the hydrogen refueling solutions that Repsol is working on, tailored to the needs of each customer.
Toyota and Repsol share the vision that the deployment of hydrogen-based mobility will be driven, in a first phase, through professional fleets, and will develop as the market matures. To promote this deployment, future customers interested in decarbonizing their vehicle fleets using Toyota’s fuel cell models will be able to refuel renewable hydrogen at the supply points network that Repsol plans to install in the main mobility and logistics corridors of the Iberian Peninsula.
This agreement represents a new step towards decarbonization, in line with the maturity of hydrogen-based technologies.
Let’s Go Beyond
Under its vision ‘Let’s Go Beyond,’ Toyota aims to go beyond zero-emission vehicles, with the goal of achieving a connected, hydrogen-based emission-free society.
Toyota’s electrification roadmap, focused on a CO2 emission-free society, outlines how the company intends to establish electrified technologies as the foundation of mobility. Along this path to electrification, Toyota collaborates with companies whose objectives align with creating a more efficient world. The company carries out all its activities with a commitment to minimizing environmental impact by optimizing the use of its resources. Toyota also supports initiatives where hydrogen takes center stage as a clean and sustainable energy source, destined to play a strategic role in the future of mobility.
Since its inception, Toyota has been working to address environmental challenges by placing hydrogen technologies at the forefront and aiming to make it the primary energy source for society in the future. This envisioned future society will not only have no emissions but will also have people, buildings, and vehicles connected in a unique ecosystem. This will lead to a better society, with mobility as its core, extending beyond automobiles and encompassing the overcoming of challenges and the realization of dreams.
Toyota’s vision places hydrogen at the center of the society of tomorrow because it is an unlimited energy source that can be obtained sustainably. Hydrogen is easy to store and transport and can be used in various areas, from transporting goods such as trucks and ships to personal transportation like private vehicles, buses, and taxis. It can also be used for residential and commercial climate control and to power production plants.
Hydrogen is a clean and efficient medium for generating electricity, producing only water as a byproduct. It is not vulnerable to supply fluctuations like oil. In addition to producing no CO2 emissions during use, hydrogen has a higher energy density than batteries that store electricity, promising to have the most significant impact on the planet’s necessary decarbonization.
The commitment to hydrogen is a fundamental part of the Toyota Environmental Challenge 2050 and can significantly contribute to one of Toyota’s main objectives as a company: achieving true harmony between society and nature.
To that end, Toyota has released over 5,600 hydrogen-related technological patents in recent years, allowing other manufacturers to use them without paying royalties and join the goal of making hydrogen the primary source of energy in the coming decades. Toyota has also been collaborating with other brands in the industry as well as public and private entities in this regard for years.
Toyota’s commitment to hydrogen is part of an electrification roadmap that began over 20 years ago with the introduction of hybrid technology and the first generation of the Toyota Prius (1997). The development strategy for electrified vehicles, including hybrid electric vehicles (HEV), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV), battery electric vehicles (BEV), and hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV), which has been in progress for decades, demonstrates Toyota’s commitment to the environment and society.
Repsol, a solid renewable hydrogen strategy
Repsol has set the ambitious goal of becoming a net-zero emissions company by 2050. To achieve this, it is immersed in a transformation process based on technological neutrality, leveraging the growth of the renewable energy business, the circular economy, energy efficiency, renewable hydrogen, and carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technologies as its main pillars.
To decarbonize mobility, Repsol is committed to an energy model that combines all available and complementary solutions, allowing for rapid and cost-efficient decarbonization. These solutions include electrification, renewable and synthetic fuels, and renewable hydrogen.
Repsol has a solid renewable hydrogen strategy with the aim of leading the industry in the Iberian Peninsula and playing a prominent role in Europe. It plans to achieve 552 MW of installed capacity by 2025 and 1.9 GW by 2030, with estimated investments of 2.549 billion euros. The multi-energy company has major electrolyzer projects, including 100 MW units located in the Petronor and Cartagena industrial complexes, which have been designated as Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI) by the European Commission and will receive funding. Additionally, a 150 MW electrolyzer project is planned for Tarragona.
Repsol is also developing smaller-scale projects, such as a 30 MW electrolyzer in Puertollano, which will help mitigate 41,000 tons of CO2 per year. Another 30 MW electrolyzer will be installed in collaboration with Naturgy and Reganosa in a Just Transition area in the municipality of Cerceda (A Coruña), targeting industrial use to replace conventional hydrogen currently used by Repsol’s complex in A Coruña and to promote mobility. Both projects have been selected by the IDAE, under the Ministry for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge, as recipients of funding.
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