Toray Industries and Tokyo-based T2 are set to begin a long-haul autonomous truck trial on part of an expressway connecting eastern and western Japan.
This effort will test whether deploying T2’s autonomous trucks to ship Toray products can provide a sustainable solution to Japan’s driver shortage.
The roughly 440-kilometer route runs from the Tomei Expressway’s Ayase Smart Interchange in Kanagawa Prefecture to the Shin-Meishin Expressway’s Ibaraki-Sendaiji Interchange in Osaka. Four runs are scheduled between September 16, 2025, and April 2026.
T2 aims to launch long-haul services with Level 4 autonomous trucks in 2027. It began commercial operations with Level 2 models in July 2025.
The trial will use these trucks to ship Toray’s Toyolac acrylonitrile butadiene styrene from the company’s Chiba Plant to Shibusawa Logistics Corporation’s Ibaraki center in western Japan.
Another goal is to expand the use of carbon-neutral fuels under an arrangement between T2 and seven petroleum companies.
Usami Koyu and Sanwa Energy will supply B5 diesel, a blend of 5 percent biodiesel and 95 percent petroleum-based diesel.
Itochu Enex will provide renewable diesel fuel made mainly from waste cooking oil and animal and vegetable fats. This advanced fuel is essentially carbon dioxide–free.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government selected this trial as one of its projects to accelerate the growth of green industries. T2 will draw on that support to experimentally use these fuels in 2025 while streamlining refueling operations.
Toray and T2 will leverage insights from the trial to potentially collaborate in commercializing long-haul Level 4 autonomous truck transportation.
