Toyota has announced that it will enter a car powered with hydrogen in the five-hour-long Super Taikyu Race in Autopolis this year. The hydrogen-powered racing car prototype is Toyota’s latest initiative to realize a carbon-neutral mobility society

A Toyota car equipped with a hydrogen engine races in the Fuji SUPER TEC 24 Hours Race. Credit: Toyota website
Toyota has announced that it will enter a car powered with hydrogen in the five-hour-long Super Taikyu Race in Autopolis this year. The hydrogen-powered racing car prototype is Toyota’s latest initiative to realise a carbon-neutral mobility society.
Just as in the previous round, the vehicle will be entered under the ORC ROOKIE Racing banner, and Toyota President Akio Toyoda will participate in the race as the driver Morizo. By entering a hydrogen-powered vehicle that uses green hydrogen produced locally in Kyushu, Toyota intends to further strengthen the hydrogen-centered partnerships it enjoys with other industries in Kyushu.
The hydrogen engine-powered Corolla participated in its first race at the Fuji SUPER TEC 24 Hours Race, which took place at Fuji Speedway on May 21, 2021, with the goal of accelerating the pace of development of its hydrogen engine.
By participating at Autopolis, Toyota hopes to identify any potential issues under tough conditions, and so accelerate the pace of its development. The company will also procure green hydrogen produced locally for local consumption from Obayashi and Toyota Motor Kyushu, which support its attempts to develop a hydrogen engine. In this way, Toyota will contribute to the use and production of green hydrogen, increase energy choice, and thereby contribute to the realization of carbon neutrality.
Kyushu has a high proportion of renewable energy usage and extensive research into hydrogen has been carried out in this region. Through its development of a hydrogen engine, Toyota hopes to establish new partnerships and regional collaborations with the goal of achieving carbon neutrality and a hydrogen society in Kyushu.
Making use of engine technologies developed in Japan over many years, hydrogen engines represent a new choice in Toyota’s efforts to realize carbon neutrality. In order to safeguard employment in the automotive industry, Toyota will continue to develop hydrogen-powered engines together with the 5.5 million people in the automotive industry and various other partners.
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