© Iveco Group

Iveco Group will integrate Toyota’s third-generation fuel cell system into a new generation of its S-eWay Fuel Cell hydrogen trucks, with validation testing beginning before the end of 2026 and on-road trials of three vehicles starting in the first half of 2027, under the EU-funded Empower project.

Hydrogen Trucking Gains Ground as Passenger Car Case Weakens

The tie-up reflects a broader shift in where the hydrogen mobility industry is placing its bets. As battery-electric vehicles improve on range and charging times, manufacturers and policymakers are increasingly concentrating hydrogen investment on long-haul and heavy-duty freight, where payload and uptime requirements favor fuel cells over batteries. Toyota has expanded its heavy-duty presence beyond this deal, having also supplied fuel cells for a 40-truck trial with Sweden’s Scania, and joined a separate industry alliance targeting coordinated hydrogen truck deployment in Germany.

Technical Specifications and Funding

The Toyota fuel cell system delivers a total output of 300kW, which Iveco says will extend the S-eWay Fuel Cell’s driving range beyond 900km and increase durability to more than 25,000 operating hours, roughly double the lifespan of its first-generation fuel cell truck under the earlier H2Haul program. Toyota said the new architecture also cuts battery capacity requirements by half compared with the prior generation, reducing vehicle weight. The program falls under Empower (Eco-operated, Modular, highly efficient, and flexible multi-powertrain for long-haul heavy-duty vehicles), an €18m scheme funded through the EU’s Horizon Europe program, according to trade publication H2 View; Iveco and Toyota’s own announcement did not disclose the project’s budget.

Corporate Roles and Strategy

Toyota is supplying the fuel cell system, drawing on more than three decades of development across mobility and industrial applications, while Iveco leads vehicle integration and validation, building on experience from its H2Haul demonstrations. “Hydrogen is a key enabler of the future energy and mobility ecosystem,” said Marco Liccardo, chief technology and digital officer at Iveco Group, adding that the partnership aims to help “unlock the full potential of hydrogen” in heavy-duty transport. Shinichi Yasui, executive vice-president of R&D at Toyota Motor Europe, said hydrogen fuel cell technology offers “strong potential” for high-mileage operations by combining range, uptime and efficiency. Iveco is separately contributing a battery-electric truck demonstrator to Empower, describing its approach as one of matching technology to specific transport needs rather than committing to a single powertrain.

Implications for Investors and Policymakers

The trial adds to a growing cluster of EU-backed heavy-duty hydrogen programmes competing for commercial validation before the end of the decade, with Iveco, Scania and the German-based trucking alliance all targeting road trials on a similar timeline. For investors, the durability and range figures cited by Toyota and Iveco represent incremental, testable progress rather than proof of commercial viability; critics continue to point to high vehicle and fuel costs, alongside lower well-to-wheel energy efficiency compared with battery-electric alternatives, as the principal barriers to scale. For policymakers, the Empower project underscores continued EU willingness to fund hydrogen heavy-duty transport through Horizon Europe even as passenger-vehicle applications lose momentum, sharpening the policy focus on freight as hydrogen mobility’s most defensible near-term use case.