Toyota Motor Corporation has begun using two fuel cell forklifts, which have been manufactured by Toyota Industries Corporation, at its Motomachi Plant located in Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture, from today.

Fuel cell forklifts, which utilise hydrogen to generate electricity, have excellent environmental performance as they do not emit CO2 or substances of concern (SOCs) during operation. They are also very convenient given that they can be refueled in approximately three minutes. Furthermore, with their ability to supply electricity, these fuel cell forklifts can serve as a source of power supply during emergencies.

In order to reduce CO2 emissions from its plants, Toyota plans to replace existing conventional forklifts with fuel cell forklifts. This will start with the Motomachi Plant, with two units being adopted in 2017, followed by about 20 units in 2018, and eventually, reaching the goal of 170 to 180 units by around 2020.

Since the announcement of its Toyota Environmental Challenge 2050 in 2015, Toyota has been developing and implementing technologies by harnessing hydrogen energy, which is aimed at using hydrogen in its plants to realise its Plant Zero CO2Emissions Challenge. The use of fuel cell forklifts is in line with that green initiative.