Last March 5, 2018, top Japanese carmakers said that they were teaming up to nearly double the amount of hydrogen stations in Japan, as the car-mad country seeks to head off competition from China and Germany.
Toyota, Nissan and Honda formed a joint venture with major gas and energy companies, including French industrial gas company Air Liquide, to build 80 new hydrogen stations in the next four years, to add to the 101 stations currently in Japan.
The Japanese government and the auto industry aim to introduce 160 stations and 40,000 fuel-cell vehicles by March 2020. The government is also pushing to deregulate the sector to lower costs.
Toyota launched the Mirai, the world’s first mass-market hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle, in late 2014 as it looked to push further into the fast-growing market for environmentally friendly cars. Nissan and Honda also have their version of fuel-cell projects.
