In November, demonstration experiments to investigate fuel efficiency and driving performance by running commercially available trucks that incorporate hydrogen fuel technology into their engines will begin in Tokyo and other locations.
This technology was developed by a company in Tokyo with a research facility in Showa-cho, Yamanashi Prefecture, and a departure ceremony was held on November 11 in Koto Ward, Tokyo, attended by related parties ahead of the demonstration experiment that began in mid-November.
The experiment will be conducted on a commercially available truck equipped with a diesel engine that incorporates technology to use hydrogen as fuel, and will actually carry cargo to investigate fuel efficiency and driving performance.
The person in charge of the company that developed the engine at the departure ceremony explained that the shape of the piston in the engine was changed to match the characteristics of hydrogen, and that the fuel efficiency was almost the same as that of a diesel engine.
After this, the truck departed from the venue and drove on public roads in Tokyo.
The demonstration experiment will run between Haneda Airport and hotels in Chiba Prefecture until the end of January next year.
Maki Nakamura, Director of the Decarbonized Mobility Business Office of the Ministry of the Environment, who attended the ceremony, said, "We hope that this technology will lead to more options for decarbonizing trucks and bring us closer to practical use."