Hexagon Purus to supply Toyota Motor North America for serial production of heavy-duty fuel cell electric powertrain kits

Advanced Clean Transportation (ACT) Expo, Las Vegas, Wednesday 22 May: Hexagon Purus is pleased to announce it will be supplying components to Toyota North America (TMNA) for serial production of its heavy-duty fuel cell electric powertrain kits. Hexagon Purus will be providing a full hydrogen storage system and high voltage battery pack for the heavy-duty fuel cell electric powertrain kit¹.

Hexagon Purus’s collaboration with Toyota started in 2017 as Toyota began development of the fuel cell electric powertrain kits for Class 8 trucks, including the proof of concept “Alpha” truck for the Port of Los Angeles, supporting the ports’ efforts to reduce harmful emissions. Hexagon Purus also supported the hydrogen-powered heavy-duty fuel cell electric truck powertrain employed in the “Ocean” trucks used in the ZANZEFF “Shore to Store” program (2020).

“We are entering a new era in our collaboration with Toyota supplying components for its fuel cell powertrain kits, to help pave the way for zero emission commercial transportation. Hydrogen can play a significant role in the reduction of emissions from heavy-duty transportation,” said Todd Sloan, Executive Vice President of Battery Systems and Vehicle Integration in Hexagon Purus.

“Combining our fuel cell stacks with Hexagon Purus’s full hydrogen storage system and high voltage battery pack provides our customers a one-stop solution to help meet their needs,” said Jay Sackett, Chief Engineer, Advanced Product Planning Office, Toyota Motor North America.

Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky (TMMK) assembles integrated dual fuel-cell (FC) modules for use in hydrogen-powered heavy-duty commercial trucks. The fuel cell kit, including the battery and hydrogen storage systems supplied by Hexagon Purus, will be sold to heavy-duty truck OEMs for hydrogen-powered heavy-duty fuel cell electric Class 8 trucks.

Toyota has been granted a Zero Emission Powertrain (ZEP) Executive Order from the California Air Resources Board (CARB) for its new heavy-duty fuel cell electric powertrain. The certification helps heavy-duty Class 8 commercial truck OEMs and operators comply with increasingly strict emissions regulations in the State of California. 

About the market
To reach the 1.5°C ambition set by the Paris agreement back in 2015, the transportation sector is required to reduce emissions by 75% by 2050. In the U.S., both Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and California Air Resources Board (CARB) have introduced proposals and regulations that address the need for further reductions in emissions in the transportation sector.