Toyota Motor North America has installed two mobile hydrogen fuelers in California and says a heavy-duty truck with its fuel-cell powertrain refueled in about eight minutes, advancing its regional freight plans.
Toyota said Oct. 20 that the units are installed at its North American Parts Center California and ready for fueling. It plans to use them to support fuel-cell trucks on regional freight routes, including trips between the Port of Los Angeles and Ontario.
The company attributed the refill result to tests with the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR). Toyota estimates that a fill of that duration could give the truck up to 450 miles of range. It did not specify how much hydrogen the truck received during the test or the conditions behind the range estimate.
Toyota described its 70-megapascal system as capable of dispensing up to 300 grams of hydrogen per second. SAE International classifies the J2601/5 high-flow fueling protocol cited by Toyota as a technical information report, citing limited field testing. In 2022, NLR reported high-flow fills using a vehicle storage simulator, separate from the truck tests Toyota announced this week.
The equipment advances a plan Toyota outlined in 2025 to use fuel-cell trucks and a fueling station at the parts center to reduce diesel truck use in its logistics operation. Toyota also plans a permanent station there with public access and separate areas for heavy and light vehicles. It has not announced an opening date.
Under an agreement announced in May, Toyota and Hyroad Energy plan to deploy 40 Class 8 fuel-cell trucks in Southern California. Toyota has not said how many have entered service. The permanent station is intended to serve Hyroad trucks first, followed by trucks equipped with Toyota’s certified fuel-cell powertrain.
Toyota expects production trucks using that powertrain to begin commercial operations in 2027.
