Brussels, Belgium,
28
September
2016
|
12:00
Europe/Amsterdam

Toyota delivers its first Mirai hydrogen fuel cell in France to Air Liquide

  • Air Liquide, world leader in gases and technologies and services for industry and health, adds the first Toyota Mirai delivered in France to its corporate vehicle fleet
  • The purchase of the world’s first mass produced fuel cell sedan ties in with Air Liquide’s objective to deploy hydrogen stations throughout France

This month, Pascal Ruch, CEO of Toyota France, officially handed over the Toyota Mirai during a short ceremony to Pierre-Etienne Franc, Air Liquide’s Vice President of Markets and Advanced Technologies.

Pascal Ruch said: "Air Liquide sends out a strong signal as the first customer of the Toyota Mirai in France. Toyota aspires to promote hydrogen mobility and teams up with partners in France who share the same ambitions. I am particularly proud that Air Liquide is the first amongst them. The Toyota Mirai, which means ‘Future’ in Japanese, is a fuel cell vehicle that combines strong environmental performance – only emitting water vapour – with the benefits of a conventional car: an autonomy of around 500 km and a refuelling time of between 3 to 5 minutes."

The handover took place at a highly symbolic location: the very first hydrogen fuelling station in Paris, built by Air Liquide at the Pont de l'Alma in December 2015, on the occasion of COP21. This station marks an important step for the hydrogen network and is evidence of the growing hydrogen energy business in France.


Hydrogen: a clean energy source, particularly for mobility
Air Liquide, the world leader in gases and technologies and services for industry and health, is actively involved in the development of hydrogen as a clean energy source, especially when it comes to mobility.

Hydrogen is an alternative to meet the challenges of clean transportation and contribute to preserving the environment. Hydrogen is part of the solution to overcome the challenges of the energy transition. Pierre-Etienne Franc commented: "The delivery of the Toyota Mirai complements our fleet of electric vehicles. We support the development of a hydrogen network by participating in the construction of hydrogen distribution solutions for mobility in Europe, the US, Japan and Korea. Having built 75 hydrogen stations across the globe and with many more currently under construction, we are pleased to see France step in."


Toyota Mirai: contributor to ambitious 2050 Toyota Environmental Challenges
Toyota has made a clear commitment to reduce the CO2 emissions of its new vehicles by 90% in 2050 (compared to 2010 levels). The company believes hydrogen fuel cell vehicles will be essential in achieving these ambitious targets. Toyota has been engaged in the research and development of automotive hydrogen fuel cell technology for over 20 years. The result of this hard work is the Toyota Mirai, a remarkable zero emissions car with a driving range of up to 500 km that can be refuelled in 3 to 5 minutes. Toyota started commercialising the Mirai in December 2014 and to date has delivered cars in Japan, the United States, Germany, UK, Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands and Norway, with Sweden to follow later this year.


Notes to the editors:
Toyota Motor Europe NV/SA (TME) oversees the wholesale sales and marketing of Toyota and Lexus vehicles, parts and accessories, and Toyota’s European manufacturing and engineering operations. Toyota directly employs around 20,000 people in Europe and has invested over EUR 9 billion since 1990. Toyota’s operations in Europe are supported by a network of 30 National Marketing and Sales Companies across 53 countries, a total of around 3,000 sales outlets, and nine manufacturing plants. In 2015, Toyota sold 873,844 Toyota and Lexus vehicles in Europe. For more information, visit www.toyota-europe.com