German Transport Minister Patrick Schnieder visited Toyota’s fuel cell factory in the city of Toyota this week, arriving in a BMW iX5 Hydrogen and leaving in a Toyota Crown FCEV — a symbolic swap that underlines how both companies are betting on hydrogen fuel-cell technology.
BMW and Toyota are jointly developing a third-generation fuel cell system aimed at being more compact and efficient. As part of the collaboration, three BMW engineers have relocated to Japan to work alongside Toyota staff. Each automaker will supply components for the shared design; once development is complete, BMW plans to build the system in Austria and Toyota will produce it in Japan. BMW intends to launch its first hydrogen series model in 2028, and Toyota says it will fit the new system to two of its existing hydrogen series models, though detailed specifications have not yet been released.
Schnieder described the BMW–Toyota partnership as a milestone for fuel-cell development and emphasized the need to prepare hydrogen for series production to diversify away from battery-only and fossil-fuel pathways. Germany and Japan have been cooperating on energy issues since their 2019 partnership, and hydrogen has become a key focus of that relationship.
Both countries envision a much larger role for green hydrogen — hydrogen produced from renewable electricity — but face major obstacles. Germany expects demand for green hydrogen to surge by 2030 and acknowledges it will need to import large volumes. Japan aims to scale up capacity to around 12 million tons per year by 2040 and is also promoting ammonia as a hydrogen carrier and transitional fuel for some thermal power plants.
Despite political momentum, hydrogen remains a niche fuel today. Schnieder toured the world’s first liquid-hydrogen terminal at the port of Kobe, which so far has been used for testing, and visited Kansai Airport, where fuel-cell buses and forklifts operate as pilot projects. Large-scale industrial adoption is still distant and dependent on cheaper electrolysis, reliable supply chains and supportive financing to smooth volatile prices: green hydrogen will initially cost significantly more than fossil fuels.
Industry players on both sides are already lining up. Last year several firms — including Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Toyota, regional utility Kepco, Daimler Truck, fuel supplier MB Energy and the Port of Hamburg — agreed to pursue a commercial hydrogen supply chain. Siemens Energy and Toray are working on improved electrolysis technology, while Thyssenkrupp Nucera is seeking business in Japan’s electrolysis market. German and Japanese authorities are also exploring funding mechanisms to help scale production and reduce price spikes.
Germany has moved faster on refueling infrastructure for heavy vehicles. Minister Schnieder announced 220 million euros to support up to 40 hydrogen filling stations nationwide and to put up to 400 hydrogen-powered trucks on the road. Daimler Truck has opened Germany’s first liquid-hydrogen refueling station for trucks.
In Japan, Daimler’s truck unit Fuso introduced liquid-hydrogen truck propulsion, but corporate changes complicate plans: Fuso merged with Toyota’s Hino business and the combined venture, Archion, must coordinate its hydrogen truck strategies. Hino already launched the Profia Z heavy-duty truck using a fuel cell derived from Toyota’s Mirai, though that vehicle runs on compressed hydrogen rather than liquid.
Germany aims for three-quarters of newly registered heavy commercial vehicles to be emission-free by 2030, with most expected to be battery-electric and a notable share using hydrogen. Japan has not set an equivalent national target. Daimler and partners, including Linde, want to deploy liquid-hydrogen refueling in Japan through Archion to enable liquid-hydrogen trucks there; until that network exists, liquid-hydrogen trucks introduced as prototypes will be limited to demonstration use.
The minister’s trip highlighted both progress and the scale of the challenge: technology partnerships, pilot projects and nascent supply chains are advancing, but large-scale, cost-competitive green hydrogen for transport and industry will require years of investment and coordination. This article was translated from German.