Isuzu Motors and Honda Motor will exhibit the GIGA FUEL CELL, a fuel cell-powered heavy-duty truck currently being co-developed by the two companies (earlier post), at the Isuzu Group booth at the JAPAN MOBILITY SHOW 2023. This will be the first time the GIGA FUEL CELL will be shown to the general public. The Japan Mobility Show will be held from 28 October 28 to 5 November 2023 at Tokyo Big Sight.

Isuzu and Honda believe that fuel cell (FC) technology will be effective to achieve carbon neutrality of heavy-duty trucks which are required to achieve high-efficiency transportation (with the capability for long-distance driving, large load capacity, quick refueling).

Since the signing of an agreement in January 2020 to conduct joint research on FC-powered heavy-duty trucks (earlier post), the two companies have been working on the verification of the compatibility of the FC system and heavy-duty trucks and the establishment of a foundation for basic technologies such as vehicle control technologies.

The two companies are currently planning to start demonstration testing of a prototype model on public roads before the end of the current fiscal year (ending 31 March 2024) and to introduce the production model to the market in 2027 by fully leveraging the technology, experience and knowledge gained through the joint research.

The GIGA FUEL CELL model on display at the Japan Mobility Show adopts the Lowdeck 8x4 rigid truck configuration, which is a typical configuration for trucks used for intercity transportation. Its range is more than 800 km/500 miles (Isuzu validation mode).

The GIGA FUEL CELL is equipped with an external power output function, so that it can leverage its large energy capacity to serve as mobile power station as needed, such as in times of a disaster.