Thanks to an agreement between the metropolitan city and Toyota, Venice will trial hydrogen mobility. The first refuelling station and ten Mirai are due before the end of the year.
After Bolzano, Venice. The metropolitan city will indeed become the second in Italy to trial hydrogen mobility, following the success of the project launched in the South Tyrolean city. Thanks to an agreement signed a few days ago, the lagoon city and Toyota will actively collaborate on the development of an experimental project aimed at promoting sustainable mobility and low emissions across the Venice area. A first refuelling station will be installed and made operational in the metropolitan area, while the Japanese manufacturer will provide ten hydrogen-powered Mirai.
If the past few years have seen a period of stagnation in hydrogen mobility, this project today reopens the path towards the creation of a refuelling network for vehicles equipped with fuel cells, capable of emitting only water vapour from their exhaust. Globally, more than 10,000 Toyota Mirai are in circulation, demonstrating that the technology is already mature — not least because it builds on the experience of the already well-known hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles. "Hydrogen is the ideal vector for seasonal storage and for integration with renewables," said Vincenzo Antonucci of the Cnr in Messina, a research centre that has been working for years on the development of hydrogen technology and the mobility associated with it. "It is a fundamental tool for the autonomy and efficiency of every country."
Japan's own energy policy is committed to the development of this type of technology and energy carrier. This is confirmed by Takeo Nobutaka, general director of the Nedo office in Europe: "Hydrogen has enormous potential and could help Japanese society meet its climate targets and decarbonise the energy sector," he explained during the signing of the agreement. "Hydrogen can in fact be produced from renewable sources, and we are investing in the development of a refuelling network." Tokyo already has 100 operational stations, while at least 900 more are set to open by 2030.
A refuelling network that will be used to fill up the fleet available to the Olympic village, the committee and the athletes, including during the Paralympic Games. "Toyota will provide 500 Mirai and 100 hydrogen buses," revealed Mauro Caruccio, chief executive of Toyota Italia. "Ours is a vision in which both solutions are complementary — both the electric one and the hydrogen one. A zero-emission society cannot be achieved with electric vehicles alone or with hydrogen alone."
"Today's agreements can accelerate infrastructure development in Italy too. Our collaboration with Venice has already been going on for three years, thanks to the launch of Yuko, the city's first electrified car-sharing service," Caruccio recalled. "To date it has 3,000 registered users and 49 operational vehicles that have covered 240,000 kilometres, almost half of them in electric mode." A sign that even the lagoon city, long synonymous with resilience, is the ideal candidate for developing what will be the mobility of tomorrow.