At the 2018 Specialty Equipment Market Association Show, Toyota showed off its latest application of hydrogen fuel cell technology: a pizza-baking pickup truck. Based on the full-size Tundra pickup, the Tundra PIE Pro was developed in partnership with Pizza Hut to provide zero emissions deliveries of fresh-baked pies. The Tundra PIE Pro is a demonstration of both the capabilities of fuel cell electric propulsion in the sort of larger vehicles Americans seem inclined to buy. It also exemplifies potential commercial applications.
Toyota is one of the leading auto industry advocates of fuel cells, having been the first company to launch a volume production purpose-built vehicle. More than 4,000 Mirais have been sold in California since the electric sedan went on sale 2 years ago. Toyota also has an active test program with the port of Long Beach to evaluate fuel cell-powered tractor trailers for hauling cargo. In August 2018, Toyota unveiled the second generation of its electric drive big rig.
Multipurpose AVs Offer a Range of Applications
Through the first 9 months of 2018, the six full-size pickup nameplates available in the US market accounted for nearly 1.8 million in sales, equivalent to 14% of all light duty vehicles. Since many of the buyers of these vehicles get them for their payload and towing capabilities, the bulk needed for batteries makes them problematic for electrification. However, as Toyota has shown with its big rig experiments, fuel cells could be a viable alternative in this segment.
While a pickup truck doesn’t necessarily make for the ideal platform for a pizza oven, this concept truck also points the way forward for some future applications of Toyota’s e-Palette platform. Unveiled at the 2018 CES, e-Palette consisted of a purpose-built automated vehicle (AV) architecture and a business alliance. The alliance includes Amazon, Uber, Didi Chuxing, and Pizza Hut, all companies that could use multipurpose AVs for a range of applications from delivering packages to carrying passengers to making and delivering pizzas.
AVs are all expected to include some degree of electrification to support the power requirements of the extensive sensing, computing, and actuation systems. However, building a viable mobility as a service business also requires maximum utilization of the vehicles, which will be a challenge for battery EVs (BEVs). Fuel cell AV fleets that operate in geofenced areas could be supported by relatively few hydrogen stations that can refuel quickly and get the vehicles back into service.
A Pizza the Mobility Puzzle
Rather than just using a warming compartment to keep the cheese gooey, as the AV test with Ford and Dominos did, the Toyota truck will deliver pies fresh from its own electric oven. The Tundra PIE Pro also has robots that handle the pizzas—all powered by the fuel cell system. The flexibility and minimal downtime provided by fuel cell power could be enablers for a broad array of new use cases for AV fleets going forward.
Technology innovation both enables and demands creative new thinking about how business should evolve. For automakers like Toyota, Ford, GM, and others, that means creating not just new vehicle platforms and propulsion systems, but also information technology infrastructure to manage the deployment of these vehicles. The world of mobility is changing and we’ve only just scratched the surface.
https://guidehouseinsights.com/news-and-views/toyota-concept-truck-points-at-commercial-potential-of-hydrogen-fuel-cells
2018-11-06T00:00:00+00:00