Air Liquide, Idex, the Société du Taxi Électrique Parisien (STEP), and Toyota are teaming up in HysetCo, a joint venture that is the first company devoted to developing hydrogen mobility in the Paris region*.
This collaboration is a major landmark in the emergence of a hydrogen-based society in France and the development of Hype, the world’s first fleet of zero emission, hydrogen-powered taxis, launched in 2015 during the COP21 sustainable innovation forum and operated in Paris and through the Île-de-France region.
HysetCo will make it easier to roll out hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and their refueling infrastructure in the region and reach the objective of 600 taxis by the end of 2020. Toyota will deliver an additional 500 Mirai hydrogen fuel cell saloons by the end of 2020, completing the existing fleet of 100 Hype vehicles.
The joint venture covers two activities: the distribution of hydrogen and the development of mobility-related applications, with each stakeholder bringing its own expertise to the project.
Through this project, the partners are making concrete their commitment to clean mobility and the improvement of air quality, as well as illustrating how hydrogen mobility is a suitable solution for intensive applications such as passenger transportation. The organisation’s mission is to promote the sector’s transition towards zero emissions, with the objective of “zero emissions for taxis/VTCs (private hire cabs) by the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.”
Hype’s taxi fleet will be able rely on a wider network of refuelling stations, following the recent opening of a new location in Roissy, near Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle airport. This joins three existing facilities in Paris region.
ENDS