The Toyota Hilux is a potent symbol for the company because it has a good name and is well-known worldwide. A new project funded by the British government has given the old engine a hydrogen heart. The prototype truck was shown for the first time at the Toyota Burnaston plant in Derbyshire, England. It uses tried-and-true parts from the Toyota Mirai fuel cell car’s engine. Even though it hasn’t been proven, the power output is probably in the range of the Mirai’s 182 horsepower and 220 lb-ft torque. The Hilux has three hydrogen tanks, just like the Mirai. This gives it a range of more than 600 kilometers (372 miles). Toyota says this is a significant improvement over what it thinks a battery-electric engine can do. So that the cabin can be as small as possible, the Hilux has a battery for keeping the power made by the fuel cells in the cargo area instead of the house. Toyota Manufacturing UK and Toyota Motor Europe started a feasibility study for the hydrogen Hilux project at the beginning of 2022. Later, money for the study came from the Advanced Propulsion Center, a non-profit group supported by the British government. In July of last year, when design and development got going, Toyota asked Ricardo, ETL, D2H Advanced Technologies, and Thatcham Research to help with engineering. The first test car was built in just three weeks. Work on it started in June of this year. It’s the first ten to be put together by the end of 2023. Ricardo will put these cars through many tests to see if the design meets car-making standards. Evaluations will be done in the form of the hydrogen-powered truck that could go into production and hit the market by the end of this decade. Toyota thinks that hydrogen has a future in transportation, even though most other car companies are focused on battery-electric alternatives. A pickup truck that ran on hydrogen would be trendy. After all, busy artisans will always like a working truck that can go far and quickly restock. But the infrastructure problem is still there. Some cars won’t break the bank.
