(Tokyo) – Eneos Corporation and Toyota Motor Corporation will jointly explore the use of hydrogen in Woven City, a “city of the future” prototype that Toyota has begun developing in Susono City, Shizuoka Prefecture. As part of the cooperation, the two companies, together with the Toyota subsidiary Woven Planet Holdings, which was founded in January of this year, are investigating the development of a hydrogen-based supply chain from production to delivery to the use of hydrogen in and around Woven City.
Eneos Holdings, Inc, Japan's largest petroleum and chemical multinational, operates 45 commercial hydrogen filling stations in the country's four largest metropolitan areas. The group is investing in hydrogen technologies and building a supply chain for CO2-free hydrogen. Toyota Motor Corporation sees hydrogen and fuel cell technology as one of the cleanest energies of the future and wants to use the technology in mobility areas such as cars, commercial and industrial vehicles (such as forklifts), trains and ships.
Exchange of know-how
In order to exploit the potential of hydrogen, the companies have reportedly agreed to use each other's know-how and experience. This particularly includes research into four core areas:
- Construction and operation of a hydrogen filling station in the immediate vicinity of Woven City by Eneos
- On-site production of green hydrogen, which also powers stationary fuel cell generators installed by Toyota in the city
- Promoting the use of hydrogen-powered fuel cell mobility for logistics in and around Woven City, including validation of hydrogen needs; Building a supply management system
- Conduct joint research on hydrogen supply at the demonstration center to be established within Woven City.
According to Toyota, Woven City is intended as a “City for Happiness” and will be an example of “how the society of the future will live, work and play”. The development is based on three core aspects:
- “Human-Centered”: The focus is on people and their preferences and needs
- “Living Laboratory”: Continuous testing of how new technologies such as hydrogen can be integrated into daily life
- “Ever-Evolving”: New technologies and services continually grow and improve.
With Woven City, Toyota says it wants to emphasize the transformation from a car manufacturer to a mobility company and make new technologies usable in a real-world environment, including automated driving, personal mobility, robotics and artificial intelligence (AI).
For example, the future city will have “three types of streets” that are interwoven at ground level – one for automated driving, one for pedestrians and one for personal mobility vehicles. An underground road will also be used to transport goods. The community will start with around 360 residents and is initially aiming for a population of more than 2.000 people.
Development of unmanned vehicles
Woven Planet Group consists of four segments: Woven Planet Holdings, Woven Core, Woven Alpha and Woven Capital. In March, Woven Capital, LP, global investment arm of Woven Planet Group, announced an equity investment in U.S. robotics company Nuro, Inc. to advance the development and construction of electric, self-driving, unmanned on-road vehicles that deliver everyday goods and services to consumers Deliver purchases autonomously. 
In doing so, Nuro wants to fundamentally change and simplify the “last mile” of local delivery for consumers and companies. Nuro has announced partnerships with US chains Kroger (supermarket), Domino's (pizza), Walmart (retail) and CVS (drugstore), among others.
Woven Capital is already investing globally in mobility technologies, automation, artificial intelligence, data and analytics, connectivity and smart cities.
deep link
https://global.toyota/en/newsroom/corporate/35298631.html
https://www.woven-city.global
Photo above
Woven City concept study / © Toyota
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Autonomous delivery service for purchases, such as “Nuro”, could be standard in Woven City / © Toyota
