Toyota and IVECO have announced a new collaboration under EMPOWER, the EU-funded Horizon Europe project for zero-emission heavy-duty transport, to jointly develop next-generation hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) for commercial trucks.
Under the partnership, Toyota will supply the fuel cell system for IVECO's new-generation FCEVs, while IVECO will lead overall vehicle development, integration and validation. Toyota brings its fuel cell technology developed over more than three decades of work across mobility and industrial applications, while IVECO draws on its experience from hydrogen demonstration projects and real-world deployments.
The new vehicle, the IVECO S-eWay Fuel Cell, will be powered by Toyota fuel cell systems with a combined output of 300 kW. It is designed to deliver a driving range beyond 900 km and durability of more than 25,000 operating hours.
Compared with IVECO's first-generation fuel cell trucks deployed under the earlier H2Haul project, the new S-eWay Fuel Cell marks a significant step up: vehicle weight has been reduced, the architecture simplified, and battery capacity cut to half that of the previous generation through a more efficient energy management strategy.
The companies say these gains bring fuel cell technology closer to meeting the operational, economic and durability requirements of large-scale commercial transport.
Validation and testing are scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of 2026, with on-road trials planned to start in the first half of 2027. The programme is intended to serve as a pilot platform for a future industrial-scale rollout of hydrogen-powered long-haul and heavy-duty trucks.
Marco Liccardo, Chief Technology & Digital Officer, Iveco Group, said: "Hydrogen is a key enabler of the future energy and mobility ecosystem... we are bringing together leading fuel cell expertise and advanced vehicle engineering to help unlock the full potential of hydrogen and drive the evolution of zero-emission heavy-duty transport."
Shinichi Yasui, Executive Vice President, R&D, Toyota Motor Europe, said: "For high-mileage, heavy-duty operations, hydrogen fuel cell technology offers strong potential by combining range, uptime and efficiency... we aim to demonstrate how Toyota's third-generation fuel cell system can help customers move towards zero-tailpipe emission logistics without compromising operational needs."