Toyota hydrogen power kit for semis gets green light in California

Toyota is often pilloried by the press for investing R&D into hydrogen instead of going all-in on battery electrics. However, their efforts may be paying off. Toyota's Zero Emissions Powertrain, or ZEP, has just been given the go-ahead for commercialization by the state of California. The kit seeks to swap out diesel engines on heavy-duty Class 8 vehicles like semi trucks and buses for hydrogen fuel cells.

Even the most hardcore evangelists for battery electrics admit that hydrogen fuel cells might make more sense for long-haul trucking. Not only do they allow trucks to refuel faster to maximize all-important uptime, but their lighter weight allows for more payload. A hydrogen fuel cell truck also out-drag races a conventional diesel.

Toyota's ZEP kit is a hydrogen fuel cell solution that produces electricity and water, not a hydrogen-combustion engine that Toyota has experimented with on some race cars. The kit includes hydrogen fuel storage tanks, fuel cell stacks, batteries, electric motors and transmission, and the latest generation is more efficient in terms of energy use and packaging than previous iterations.