Toyota dealers in Orange County particularly Toyota of Orange just found out that the Toyota Motor Corporation and Hino Motors Ltd are teaming up with three convenience stores, mainly Seven-Eleven, FamilyMart, and Lawson, to introduce light-duty fuel cell electric trucks (light-duty FCETS). Besides this, some Toyota dealers have heard that there are also plans to develop an environment for its general use in the future. As always, Toyota is focusing on a sustainable society which bears in mind global warming and energy diversification.
What’s The Plan?
Toyota of Orange, the leading Toyota dealer in Orange County informs us that fuel cell vehicles, such as the Toyota Mirai, use hydrogen to produce electricity and do not emit carbon dioxide. The plan is that Toyota, its subsidiary Hino Motors Ltd. and the convenience store operators Seven-Eleven Japan Co., FamilyMart Co. and Lawson Inc. will use light-duty trucks with a maximum payload of 3 tons. These vehicles are being developed by the two car manufacturers.
At the moment, the five companies are analyzing the use of these types of light-duty trucks and establishing whether they are practical and feasible for transporting merchandise between distribution centers and convenience stores. Also, they will work out the hurdles in cost efficiency and setting up the necessary infrastructure.
As Toyota dealers in Orange County have pointed out, most of the time delivery trucks that transport products such as pre-cooked meals to numerous convenience stores, need a good amount of cruising range, loading capacity, and fast refueling. Toyota and Hino have set a goal for a cruising range of about 400 kilometers on one tank of hydrogen.
Why Is Seven-Eleven Involved In This Project?
Seven-Eleven is often cited as America’s go-to convenience store. The convenience store franchise was founded in the United States in 1927; however, it wasn’t until 1991 that a majority of the company became owned by Japanese investors. Surprisingly, many of the chain’s 64,000 stores are in Asian countries. The 20,000 in Japan outnumber the U.S. population of 8,000 stores.
At the moment, 7-Eleven Japan is supplied by 5,800 delivery trucks, and around 15% of them are hybrids and other clean energy vehicles. The convenience store’s ambition is to increase that percentage to up to 20%. When it comes to the new trucking fleet that Toyota and Hino are developing, the refrigeration-freezer unit as well as the vehicle will be powered by hydrogen fuel cells. Each truck will distribute from the delivery centers to individual stores.
Is There Anything Else The Companies Are Introducing?
Besides the clean vehicles, the companies are thinking about bringing in stationary hydrogen fuel cell generators to power the stores. Also, they are examining ways of installing stationary systems in stores that use rechargeable automobile batteries, which could come in handy during disasters as emergency power sources and during normal operations to save energy. Furthermore, Toyota and 7-Eleven Japan are going to install an energy management system for existing solar power generations, the new stationary hydrogen fuel cell power generators, and the new stationary rechargeable battery systems.
What Can We Expect To See Next Year?
In 2021, Seven-Eleven, FamilyMart, and Lawson will carry out a trial operation of light-duty fuel cell electric trucks, that have a maximum payload of 3 tons, and have been developed by Toyota and Hino, to confirm its practicality and convenience to find out whether they are ready to be deployed for use.
During this evaluation of the trial operations, Seven-Eleven, FamilyMart, and Lawson will validate delivery by light-duty FCETS in logistics between multiple distribution centers and stores, to establish whether or not it is worth going ahead with trails in 2022 and in the future, from the outlook of businesses and the society.
After this, in 2022 and further down the line, Toyota and Hino are going to work to find out the different issues that go hand in hand with convenience. For instance, positioning of hydrogen stations, hydrogen supply filling capability, and operating hours in their present use in the market, along with the purchase of vehicles and cost of hydrogen fuel toward future popularization.
The companies will submit improvements to address these issues and work together with the national and local authorities, and hydrogen station operators, to move forward in talks on the necessary support and cooperative systems needed to build effective mechanisms that lead to lower CO2 emissions through the future widespread introduction of FCETs.
How Will Fuel Cell Vehicles Change Delivery Logistics?
There is no denying that truck operations are the basis of the daily logistics of convenience stores that help people’s daily life. Delivery truck products such as pre-packed meals deal with numerous delivery operations in a single day and have to be driven long distances for extended hours. Fuel cell vehicles that operate on hydrogen, which has a higher energy density, are thought to be effective during these operating conditions that need them to have enough cruising range and load capacity as well as quick refueling capability. Toyota and Hino have set the cruising range for light-duty FCETs to about 400 km to meet the high standards in environmental performance as well as transport efficiency, which is anticipated in a commercial vehicle.
What’s The Future For Hydrogen?
The two companies want hydrogen to grow in demand and are hoping to introduce fuel cell commercial vehicles, such as trucks and buses, that utilize more hydrogen than passenger vehicles. A great feature of commercial vehicles, depending on their purpose, it is also possible to find out the driving range and to plan operations systematically, consisting of handling of refueling with hydrogen. However, there are a few snags when it comes to the full-scale introduction, such as reduction of vehicle price and the cost of hydrogen, and improvement of the convenience of hydrogen stations.
These five companies are going leaps and bounds to encourage the establishment of an environment that runs on fuel cell vehicles. Not only for light-duty trucks but also for commercial and passenger vehicles too. Additionally, they want to work together with the national and local authorities and hydrogen station operators, investigating different ways through the operation of light-duty FCETs in logistics settings to handle improvements and to iron out issues.