INTERVIEW: THIEBAULT PAQUET Outside the box T Words: Alex Grant WITH A THIRD-GENERATION FUEL CELL SYSTEM DUE IN 2026, TOYOTA’S HYDROGEN FACTORY EUROPE IS CREATING PARTNERSHIPS FOCUSED ON HIGH VOLUMES, BUILDING KNOWLEDGE AND PROVIDING MORE AFFORDABLE TECHNOLOGY FOR CARS AND VANS oyota is on a pathway to carbon neutrality by 2050, and Europe is ahead of the curve. With an industry-wide deadline of 2035 to eradicate tailpipe CO₂ emissions for new light-duty vehicles, the car maker’s European subsidiary will be net zero by 2040 and it isn’t relying on batteries to get there. Encouraged by renewed political support, Toyota set up a local business operation – Hydrogen Factory Europe – to research and support diverse applications for its fuel cell technology, and create much-needed economies of scale. “We expect Europe to become one of the world’s leading regions for hydrogen development,” explains Thiebault Paquet, Toyota Motor Europe (TME) vice president and head of fuel cell business. “We are looking for people who are experts in their area, and we try to find common ground, because if we can use our standards, we can limit the cost of the system. “If, in collaboration with partners, we can achieve production volumes of over 200,000 units a year by 2030, we should be able to reduce the cost by 50% [compared with today’s technology].” A powertrain engineer by background, with 28 years’ experience at Toyota, Paquet has led TME’s fuel cell initiative since 2020, when sales, R&D and manufacturing were consolidated into a single unit. It’s one of three such operations, each based in a region predicted to become an early hydrogen economy. Europe and the USA are focused on integrating and calibrating fuel cells for local applications, while Japan has the additional responsibility of developing the underlying technology. Those efforts, along with an R&D 40 www.automotivepowertraintechnologyinternational.com / March 2024