A Toyota Mirai utilized in Geazone Eco-Courier’s fleet
VICTORIA – North America’s first hydrogen-powered courier fleet has been launched – by Victoria-based Geazone Eco-Courier.
Geazone Eco-Courier is a zero emissions courier company that provides sustainable delivery services, third party logistics and freight services to businesses across Vancouver Island and Vancouver. Their 40 new Toyota Mirai fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) are powered by hydrogen — and their only tailpipe emission is water.
“Geazone is committed to providing a fast, reliable, affordable and sustainable delivery service with the customer in mind, and this new hydrogen-powered zero-emission fleet will help us achieve this,” says Geazone President & CEO Andrew Mitchell. “We believe all businesses can be champions of sustainability and we want to help lead this change.”
Geazone’s launch of its hydrogen-powered courier fleet is partly a result of changes in the economy brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We’d already been operating as an eco-courier with battery electric vehicles, but when COVID arrived, we had to make some changes,” Mitchell adds. “A lot of our business-to-business client base dried up. We pivoted to a business-to-consumer model for final mile delivery by courier.
“At the same time, we were also looking at adapting our fleet to hydrogen. When I saw the Toyota Mirai, I was excited. I took one for a test drive and a few days later, came back and told them I wanted 40 of them, right then and there. A few weeks later, we added the first batch of FCEVs to our fleet.”
Geazone plans on expanding their hydrogen-powered fleet in the coming months.
Stephen Beatty, Vice President, Corporate at Toyota Canada Inc., states “In places where the fueling infrastructure exists – as it does in BC – hydrogen-powered FCEVs really are the perfect zero-emission solution for organizations with fleets of high-use vehicles.
“We commend Geazone for taking this bold and innovative step for their business, and we hope their fleet of Toyota Mirai will help demonstrate the value of FCEVs to other fleet owners looking to reduce their carbon footprint.”
Earlier this year, Toyota announced it was partnering with ride-share leader Lyft to make available a similar fleet of zero-emission FCEVs for ride-share drivers in the Vancouver area.
Hydrogen BC, the association championing BC’s hydrogen industry, sees the announcement as a strong indicator of hydrogen’s growing momentum in the province.
“With four active hydrogen fueling stations, and several more planned, British Columbia is certainly in the right place to launch a courier fleet of hydrogen-powered vehicles,” says Colin Armstrong, Chair of Hydrogen BC. “The foresight of the BC government combined with the innovative work of local companies means we have the necessary hydrogen fueling infrastructure for a seamless fleet service operation. We’re excited to be home to North America’s first hydrogen-powered courier fleet, and we congratulate Geazone on this exciting venture.”
