The CaetanoBus, Toyota and Air Liquide triple alliance for hydrogen mobility in Europe

Unity is strength, it is known. And so CaetanoBus, Toyota and Air Liquide are joining forces to accelerate the development of hydrogen mobility in Europe, signing a memorandum of understanding with the aim of developing integrated H2 solutions for both light and heavy-duty vehicles. The partnership reflects the three partners’ shared ambition to contribute to the decarbonization of transportation and to accelerate the development of local hydrogen ecosystems for multiple mobility applications.

The three companies will cooperate from renewable or low-carbon hydrogen production, to distribution and refueling infrastructure, to deployment in different vehicle segments. Initially, the focus will be on buses, light commercial vehicles and cars, with the further goal of accelerating the heavy-duty truck segment.

Hydrogen mobility in Europe: a word from the key players

Patrícia Vasconcelos, CEO of CaetanoBus, said: “It is a great pleasure to work on hydrogen projects with these partners and have the chance to reinforce the role of new forms of energy in the pursuit of a sustainable way of living. We are aware of the responsibility of the mobility sector in this mission and our goal as a bus manufacturer is to continuously develop new hydrogen buses, to reduce the carbon footprint in the cities. If we can do It in partnership to create a full ecosystem, the better it is, because energy transitions are only effective with true alignment between companies, countries, and policies.”

Matthieu Giard, Vice President, member of the Executive Committee of Air Liquide, supervising Hydrogen activities, said: “As a key solution to reduce CO2 emissions of the mobility sector, low-carbon hydrogen is a crucial enabler of the energy transition. Air Liquide is pleased to partner with Toyota and CaetanoBus. Such partnerships are essential to create efficient ecosystems that will foster the emergence of hydrogen mobility in Europe. Air Liquide has been committed for more than 50 years to develop the entire hydrogen value chain and will bring its expertise in both the production of low-carbon hydrogen and the development of hydrogen mobility infrastructures. This partnership illustrates the capacity of the industry to bring concrete solutions to the fight against climate change.

Matt Harrison, President and CEO at Toyota Motor Europe comments: “We are excited by the opportunity to combine our strengths to expand the development of hydrogen clusters. Toyota’s role is to bring the hydrogen applications into the ecosystem, and by working together with our partners we want to accelerate and intensify the use of hydrogen as a carbon neutral solution for mobility. This will gradually reduce the costs of hydrogen and its infrastructure while improving the business case for many future applications including mobility.”