The companies are also looking forward to onboarding other entities dealing with hydrogen mobility onto the project as well, which, they say, is key to its success
Auto manufacturer Toyota Motors and South Africa-based fuel company Sasol have partnered to create a green hydrogen-powered mobility ecosystem, the two companies announced at an event.
Sasol President and CEO Fleetwood Grobler said, “We believe hydrogen mobility is a real opportunity for [South Africa] to decarbonise the sectors of long-haul and heavy-duty transport, mining and others and see the creation of hydrogen hubs, or ecosystems, as a practical and affordable way to scale up the deployment of hydrogen in the transport sector.”
As per a report by Reuters, the companies explained that they plan to “develop a mobility corridor and expand the demonstration to a pilot project using one of South Africa’s main freight corridors, the N3 route between the coastal city of Durban, where most of the country’s imports arrive in containers, to the economic hub of Johannesburg.”
Having filling stations along the route, Sasol will be responsible for the installation of a hydrogen refuelling station for the demonstration project.
The South African unit of Toyota has begun negotiation with the parent company to import a fuel cell truck, whose prototype is currently being developed in Japan, to South Africa once it is made available.
The companies are also looking forward to onboarding other entities dealing with hydrogen mobility onto the project as well, which, they say, is key to its success.
“Our partnership with Toyota, which will include other partners over time, aims to build a sustainable end-to-end infrastructure for hydrogen mobility, initially focused on piloting the concept,” Grobler said.
Andrew Kirby, President and CEO of Toyota South African Motors, said, “We are excited about the partnership with Sasol, which we hope will assist in scaling up investment in critical infrastructures such as charging stations and the fuel itself.”