Toyota Australia opens Melbourne Hydrogen Centre on Earth Day

Toyota Australia celebrated the 50th anniversary of Earth Day by unveiling the first stage of its Hydrogen Centre at the Toyota Centre of Excellence in Altona, Melbourne.

This first stage of the $7.4 million Hydrogen Centre – developed with $3.1m of funding support from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) – comprises an education facility to demonstrate how hydrogen can play a role in both the future of transport and the broader energy economy.

While the current COVID-19 restrictions mean the education centre is unable to welcome visitors at present, its completion marks a step in Toyota’s ongoing action to address climate change and its continued sustainable development.

Earth Day – recognised yearly on April 22 – was established in 1970 and is now the world’s largest environmental movement with more than 75,000 partners in more than 190 countries helping to drive action to combat environmental degradation.

This year, the theme for action is climate change, an area that Toyota has been focussed on, in line with the global Toyota Environment Challenge 2050 announced in 2015. The global challenge aims to reduce global average CO2 emissions from its new vehicles and manufacturing plants and facilities by 35% by 2030 compared to 2013 levels.

Toyota Australia manager future technologies and mobility Matt MacLeod says locally, the company’s investment in the hydrogen economy, the increased availability and demand for its hybrid vehicles, and its growing solar capacity at its Australian facilities are providing a significant contribution to meeting the global CO2 reduction targets.

“Targeting CO2 emissions is a major goal of the global Toyota Environment Challenge 2050 and for the longer term, we are committed to developing and promoting hydrogen as a viable fuel for zero-emission transport as well as playing a role in the broader energy economy,” MacLeod says.

“The education facility at the Hydrogen Centre is about informing and demonstrating the opportunity to meet the energy needs of our society in the not too distant future. To help cater for that, the centre will also incorporate a permanent sustainable hydrogen production and storage facility alongside a commercial grade refuelling station that is due to be completed by the end of the year.

“Currently, cars and light commercial vehicles contribute about 11% of Australia’s transport CO2 emissions. The Toyota Mirai FCEV (Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle) that has been trialled for the past year by a number of organisations including local councils in Melbourne produces zero harmful emissions – nothing but water vapour,” he says.