Toyota finally shows prototype hydrogen fuel cell Hilux pickup

While all eyes are focused on the IAA in Munich, Toyota’s Hilux hydrogen pickup was revealed on Tuesday at Toyota Manufacturing UK’s vehicle plant in Derby, England. As expected, the technology comes from the Toyota Mirai hydrogen fuel cell electric sedan. “Technology that has proved its quality in almost ten years of commercial production,” the carmaker claims.

The prototype project started in June of this year in a specific Toyota factory (TMUK) in Burnaston, with the first of ten to be produced by the end of this year. These prototypes will be used for rigorous testing to ensure safety, dynamic performance, functionality, and durability meet the high standards required of a production model.

The design and development program started one year earlier with funds from the UK Government’s Advanced Propulsion Centre, a non-profit organization supporting the development of cleaner technologies and new mobility concepts.

With some help from Brussels

The actual development was done by a consortium with TMC and engineers from its Technical Center in Zaventem near Brussels (Belgium) with global strategic engineering company Ricardo (design), ETL (fan arrangements), D2H Advanced Technologies (modeling and aerodynamics), and automotive risk intelligence company Thatcham Research. The Belgian Technical Center provided expert technical support, being the company’s European nerve center for assembling and further developing fuel cells.

The Hilux hydrogen pickup inherits the 330-cell solid polymer electrolyte fuel cell stack of the Mirai and three high-pressure hydrogen tanks, enabling it to deliver an actual driving range of 600 kilometers after refueling.

That is almost as far as the Mirai sedan, but – says Toyota – is significantly further than might be achieved with a battery electric system. The hybrid pickup battery is mounted in the rear load deck, avoiding loss of cabin space. Further technical specs are scarce.

Hilux Revo BEV Concept shows up in Australia

A few days earlier, Toyota showed a battery-electric version in Australia, the Hilux Revo BEV Concept. Initially, it was unveiled in Thailand late last year, with Toyota disclosing more than a dozen electric vehicle concepts. The Hilux Revo BEV Concept is an urban-focused two-wheel drive pickup designed for short-range use. But it remained pretty silent after its Thailand debut, where no technical specs were revealed.