Coming soon! Is a Toyota LandCruiser using a hydrogen-fuelled combustion engine under study by the brand?

It looks like Toyota's hydrogen-powered combustion engine HiAce bus won't be alone for long, with a Toyota executive confirming another much loved model is also set for the hydrogen treatment.

Toyota is interested in making the hydrogen-fuelled combustion engine setup work in one of its other global workhorses, the Toyota LandCruiser SUV, with Hydrogen Factory President Mitsumasa Yamagata telling media at the brand’s Australian headquarters that engineers are already working on it.

Yamagata explained via a translator that it's possible to adapt the technology for larger models like the LandCruiser, with the advantage being that those vehicles can still tow and be used for loading.

While Yamagata confirmed the LandCruiser is currently under study for the technology, he also pointed out that it’s not yet clear if it’s going to be suitable.

Present at the launch was the aforementioned Toyota HiAce 12-seat bus, powered by a hydrogen-fuelled 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6 engine borrowed from the US-spec LandCruiser and Tundra.

In the Tundra, it makes 290kW/650Nm, in the LC300 305kW/650Nm, and can produce as much as 325kW/790Nm in its Tundra hybrid form, but in the HiAce previewed by journalists, the hydrogen version of the powertrain was tuned down to 120kW and 354Nm.

Toyota executive has confirmed another much loved model is also set for the hydrogen treatment. (Image: Chris Thompson)

Speaking later to select outlets including CarsGuide, Yamagata said the engine’s current outputs were a safety level for testing, and that achieving a similar output delivery to a diesel engine was one of the aims for engineers hoping to create an alternative for the kinds of vehicles often used in industry and commercial spaces.

While not confirmed, it seems the LandCruiser is next on the list for a couple of key reasons - the size of the tanks needed to hold enough hydrogen for the vehicle to have a useable range aren’t exactly small. The HiAce prototype has a range of less than 200km, as an example.

Secondly, as mentioned by Toyota’s executives, it has a towing and payload advantage over battery electric and fuel-cell electric vehicles, where those propelled by electric motors are more affected by extra weight.

Yamagata confirmed the LandCruiser is currently under study for the technology. (Image: Glen Sullivan)

While its 200km range and low outputs aren’t very impressive on paper at the moment, Toyota expects to have a more robust and applicable version of the drivetrain following testing by as many as seven organisations here in Australia as part of a pilot program to provide real-world feedback to Toyota.

While it certainly won’t be the appropriate technology in every application - Toyota expects more traditional electric cars to remain more popular for passenger applications in city areas for example - the hydrogen-powered combustion engine is another addition to Toyota’s ‘multi-pathway approach’ to decarbonisation.

Toyota is staunchly refusing to put all of its eggs into the EV basket, instead hoping its combination of traditional and plug-in hybrids, battery electric vehicles, and hydrogen-powered vehicles will all collectively lower the emissions caused by the vehicles it puts on the road - and in the case of the LandCruiser, potentially off the road.