This week on Toyota Times News, we continue the coverage from Paris. Timed to coincide with the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, many world-first hydrogen trials were being carried out, and Yuta Tomikawa came to “help.”

One trial involved actually using portable hydrogen cartridges on the streets. The hydrogen in the cartridges is used to generate electricity, which provides power to the freezer and the cargo bike that tows it.

Tomikawa carries a replacement cartridge on his back while wandering the streets of Paris. He distributes ice cream cooled by the freezer, making people smile while helping them feel closer to hydrogen.

The cartridges are made at the Toyoda Gosei Inabe Plant, where the tanks are produced for the FCEV Mirai. The Toyota Times camera got a peek into the secret-filled manufacturing process.

In addition, a multi-pathway event was held at a circuit outside Paris. Here, many hydrogen mobility vehicles were at work, including a dune buggy and a Yamaha-made golf cart.

In Europe, the birthplace of car culture, there has recently been dramatic progress in a so-called BEV Shift. It is also a region where Morizo, a.k.a. Chairman Akio Toyoda, put his body on the line to promote the potential of hydrogen as an option.

In August 2022, in Belgium, which hosted the 9 ^th round of the WRC (FIA World Rally Championship), Morizo himself gave a demo run of a hydrogen engine. The following June, at WEC (FIA World Endurance Championship) Le Mans 24 Hours, a hydrogen engine concept car with an eye toward future WEC competition was unveiled. In this way, actions are building up to gradually change people’s views toward hydrogen.

This local report is full of hydrogen, illustrating one more step toward achieving a hydrogen society. It’s a must-watch!