The date is June 19, the place of the presentation is Forte Marghera, and the appointment is one of the historic ones: in fact, the first hydrogen-powered public car sharing in Italy is born in Venice. Presented to the national and local press and in front of all the companies involved in the project, the initiative involves the Municipality of Venice and KINTO Share, a Toyota Group company, which with a fleet to which three Mirai, electric cars propelled by hydrogen-powered fuel cells, have been added, will be available within the municipal territory.
“The partnership between the municipality and Toyota Group begins in 2018 with an initial car sharing service,” said Mauro Caruccio, CEO of KINTO Italy and Toyota Financial Services Italy. we met through a common vision on sustainable mobility innovation. Indeed, the KINTO Share service since its appearance in the lagoon has been distinguished by a low-pollution electrified fleet; in fact, the 50 cars have very low CO2 and nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions. In addition, the service was created to be digitally accessible in a simple and intuitive way, combining sustainability with technology “.
The public car sharing service launched by the municipality in 2018 was the beginning of a journey that now has as many as 16 vehicle pickup points on city land. As stated by Mayor Luigi Brugnaro: ” This achievement is the result of a path undertaken to experiment with new sustainable ways of getting around in urban areas, arriving at the current goal of having cars that emit only water vapor at the exhaust. Doing it in Venice is particularly significant, because we are demonstrating not only that public car sharing can be done, but that it can be hydrogen-powered, combining respect for the environment and technology, all at the service of citizens and tourists “.
This is not the first piece of the link that is uniting the city withhydrogen technology, which has already been pointed out as an element of renaissance for Porto Marghera where local production of this element will be started; in fact, in 2022 the first gas station to distribute hydrogen had arrived and in 2023 a fleet of buses powered by this green fuel. “Venice really wants to be the World Capital of Sustainability – added Brugnaro-we don’t want to just talk about energy transition here, we are achieving it with concrete actions, respecting the environment, the social fabric and the economic balance.”
Present in key areas such as Piazzale Roma, Marco Polo Airport and Mestre Station , KINTO’s car sharing service can be booked directly through the app (KINTO Share EU). In Venice it is used by 6,000 registered users, and through the 63,000 rentals made since the service has been active, more than 72 tons of CO2 have been saved. With the latest three Toyota Mirai cars that have entered the Venetian fleet, positioned at the stalls of the multi-storey parking lot at the former Grinfan Area in Piazzale Roma and in front of Marco Polo Airport arrivals, it will be possible to drive on hydrogen by refueling directly at the Enilive service station in San Giuliano in Mestre, with enough autonomy to move around abundantly within the city area.
Hydrogen technology is an integral part of the development of Toyota, which is diversifying the consolidation of the electrification of its range, so much so that the Japanese company has been mass producing the Mirai since 2014, which with 27,000 models produced and sold in various markets, it is no accident that it chose this name (which means “future” in Japan) for the sedan. The car in Venice has been in testing since 2022, with an initial delivery of two vehicles to the municipality and a subsequent trial in 2024 with 10 KINTO service users. ” The only exhaust product of these cars is water – explains CEO Mauro Caruccio – simultaneously ensuring driving comfort and high performance, with 650km of range and recharging in 5 minutes. The cost of the KINTO rental will be €4 per hour, with 50km free as a launch offer and a daily check of the vehicle’s health and autonomy “.
Theinauguration of the public hydrogencar sharing service also sawthe opportunity for the presentation of a research conducted by the Luiss Business School’s Car and Mobility Observatory, in which Toyota is a partner, titled “Hydrogen Perspective for Car and Mobility, Analysis of Growth Opportunities for Europe and Italy.” The study explored the role of hydrogen technology in the development of new sustainable mobility models, assessing its growth rates in Europe and Italy. The scenario that emerges is that of a potential driving role of hydrogen in the processes of decarbonization and fossil fuel consumption, especially in Europe where it is necessary not only to produce renewable energy, but to ensure the sustainability of the entire production process.
Italy seems to believe in this technology, given the investment of 3.64 billion euros with PNRR funds, for 61 “Hydrogen Valley” projects that foresee an annual production of about 7,000 tons of renewable hydrogen and a network of 30 refueling stations and 7 distributors for local public transport by June 2026, thus creating a real industrial chain with an estimated potential economic value of between 4.5 and 7.5 billion euros by 2030, destined to touch up to 35 billion by 2050. During the inauguration, Toyota also showed a treat: it is the experimental prototype of one of its best-selling models, the famous all-terrain pickup truck Hilux in FC version, or hydrogen fuel cell.
C.I.D. s.r.l. Società a Socio Unico – Casa editrice del settimanale Gente Veneta – CF e PI 02341300271 – REA: VE – 211669 – Capitale Sociale 31.000 euro i.v. – Dorsoduro,1 – 30123 Venezia
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