BMW, Hyundai and Toyota form Hydrogen Transport Forum in Australia
BMW, Hyundai and Toyota have teamed up to launch the Hydrogen Transport Forum – a new industry coalition aimed at getting hydrogen-powered vehicles and infrastructure moving in Australia.
Announced today ahead of its soft launch at the 2025 Brisbane Truck Show, the Forum brings together three of the world’s leading automotive manufacturers with a single focus: to close the gap between hydrogen ambition and on-the-ground delivery.
Australia talks a lot about hydrogen, but much of the attention so far has gone to production, export potential, and megaprojects aimed at fuelling other countries.
The HTF is focused on something more immediate: how to get hydrogen vehicles on the road in Australia, and how to build the infrastructure to support them.
Unlike broader hydrogen associations, the Forum is dedicated solely to transport – from trucks and buses to fleet cars – and the nuts-and-bolts rollout challenges that come with them.
In a joint statement, the founding members said the Forum “represents a proactive step toward industry-wide coordination and a genuine commitment to building the hydrogen refuelling and vehicle ecosystem needed to support Australia’s transport transition.”
What the HTF will actually do
The Hydrogen Transport Forum has been set up as a collaborative platform where companies can align their fleet plans, share visibility on upcoming deployments, and present a more united front when it comes to securing government support.
Its early priorities include:
- Identifying geographic clusters where hydrogen fleet demand can support shared infrastructure
- Encouraging shared data and transparency across projects
- Advocating for targeted public funding and policy settings that reflect commercial realities
- Educating stakeholders – from ministers to fuel station developers – about hydrogen’s real-world use cases
The aim is to create a working body that supports deployment with actual, shared action.
Inspired by Europe’s H2Accelerate
The structure of the HTF takes its cue from H2Accelerate, a European partnership between Daimler Truck, Volvo Group, Iveco, and hydrogen suppliers like Linde and Air Liquide.
That group has helped kick-start large-scale hydrogen truck projects across key freight corridors, combining joint advocacy with infrastructure planning.
The founding OEMs in Australia are hoping for a similar effect – using the Forum to break through the recurrant catch-22: operators won’t buy hydrogen vehicles without fuel stations, and fuel stations won’t be built without known demand.
As with H2Accelerate, the HTF is expected to expand over time, bringing in logistics firms, hydrogen producers, infrastructure developers, and others working at the transport coalface.
Why hydrogen, and why now?
All three founding members – BMW, Hyundai, and Toyota – are investing in hydrogen as part of a multi-technology approach to transport decarbonisation.
They say battery-electric vehicles remain central to their strategies, but hydrogen is seen as the better fit for higher-utilisation, long-range or heavy-duty vehicles.
That includes trucks, coaches, and large commercial fleets where charging downtime is a problem, payloads are high, or duty cycles are demanding.
It also includes organisations with depot-based refuelling, where early hydrogen hubs make practical sense.
Australia’s geography and logistics networks make it particularly suited to hydrogen for long-haul freight and regional operations – but only if the infrastructure gets built.
Hydrogen also contributes to energy security and fuel diversity, especially in a country with long distances, seasonal grid stress, and volatile diesel supply chains.
What’s next
The Hydrogen Transport Forum will formally launch this week at the Brisbane Truck Show.
Initial membership will be limited to automotive OEMs, but expansion is expected quickly, with other industry players invited to join.
More announcements – including early deployment plans and collaborative initiatives – are expected in the coming months.
