Toyota and IVECO have announced a collaboration under EMPOWER, an EU-funded Horizon Europe project aimed at zero-emission heavy-duty transport. The two companies will work on a next-generation fuel cell system for long-haul trucks and validate it in real customer operations. Both say the goal is higher power, better energy efficiency and longer durability than today’s hydrogen powertrains.
Toyota and IVECO said on 10 September 2026 that they are joining forces on next-generation hydrogen fuel cell technology for heavy-duty trucks. The work sits inside EMPOWER, a project funded by the European Union through its Horizon Europe research programme and dedicated to zero-emission heavy transport.
The announcement was made jointly from Brussels and Turin, the respective European bases of the two companies. Toyota describes the tie-up as a significant milestone in developing fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) for the heavy-duty sector.
Complementary roles
According to the companies, the collaboration is built around complementary capabilities: Toyota brings its fuel cell system expertise, while IVECO contributes the truck platform and vehicle integration. The release frames it as a strategic collaboration rather than a joint venture, and no ownership or financial details were disclosed.
Crucially, the partners intend to go beyond the laboratory. The stated plan is to deploy and validate the technology in customer operations — in other words, hydrogen trucks running real freight duties rather than test loops, which is where durability and refuelling practicalities tend to surface.
What the next generation is meant to deliver
The companies point to three areas of improvement over current hydrogen powertrains: higher power output, improved energy efficiency and increased durability. Together, they say, these should move hydrogen-powered transport closer to commercial-scale deployment. No specific output, range, tank capacity or timing figures were given.
Why it matters
Heavy-duty long-haul transport remains one of the hardest segments to decarbonise. Battery-electric trucks have advanced quickly, but weight, charging time and payload trade-offs still make hydrogen an attractive option for operators covering long distances with short turnarounds. The bottleneck has been cost, fuel cell lifetime and a thin refuelling network across Europe.
Toyota has been supplying fuel cell modules to third-party vehicle makers for several years, adapting technology first developed for the Mirai passenger car. IVECO, part of the Iveco Group, already offers battery-electric versions of its S-eWay heavy tractor unit. Bringing the two together under EU research funding gives the project a route toward series production rather than a one-off demonstrator.
Next steps
No launch date, pricing or production timeline has been announced. Further details on the EMPOWER project and the vehicles involved are expected from both companies as the programme progresses.
Source: newsroom.toyota.eu