Madrid taxis make commitment to hydrogen fuelling technology as the fleet prepares to decarbonise

The Professional Taxi Federation of Madrid (FPTM), the main independent and non profit association within the Madrid taxi sector, has confirmed its commitment to green hydrogen fuel as a sustainable and viable alternative that will allow its fleet to carbonise.

Their main objective is the gradual replacement of 1,000 combustion engine taxis with hydrogen models by 2026 which is expected to cost more than €100million. This project will allow Madrid taxi drivers to make use of fuel cell vehicles, which operate similar to traditional combustion engine models, but have several environmental and economic benefits.

The project, known as "Taxi-as-a-service", has set the 1,000 hydrogen taxis goal for 2026, however the first models could be in operation in 2022. The €100million investment includes both the vehicle fleet and its recharging infrastructure, known as "hydrogenerators".

In addition, the FPTM wants to help Madrid become one of the leading cities in Europe in terms of sustainable public transport. In addition to the federation itself, the project has partners such as Madrileña Red de Gas, Toyota España and Fotowatio Renewable Ventures, among others.

The Madrileña Red de Gas and Fotowatio Renewable Ventures companies will be in charge of the development and implementation of the infrastructure for the production and supply of renewable hydrogen. Regarding the mobile fleet of hydrogen taxis, Toyota Spain will be the vehicle supplier, specifically its second-generation Toyota Mirai saloon, which recently managed to travel 1003 km on a single hydrogen charge.

The renewable hydrogen supply will come from a 10MW electrolysis hydrogen generator, which will be powered by a 20MW solar plant. These two projects will be located in the Community of Madrid and will allow their expansion if demand increases significantly.