BEIJING • Japan's Toyota Motor Corp said on Sunday it was setting up a research institute in Beijing in partnership with Tsinghua University to study car technology using hydrogen power and other green technologies that could ease environmental problems in China.

The initiative, outlined by Toyota president and chief executive Akio Toyoda in a speech at Tsinghua University, is part of the Japanese company's efforts to share more technology with China as it seeks to expand its business in the country by beefing up manufacturing capacity and distribution channels, a source close to Toyota said.

The Tsinghua-Toyota Joint Research Institute will conduct research into cars and new technology to solve environmental problems in China, including reducing traffic accidents, Toyota said in a statement.

The institute will "cooperate in research not only related to cars for Chinese consumers, but also in research related to active utilisation of hydrogen energy that can help solve China's energy problems", the company said.

The move dovetails with Toyota's announcement this month that it would offer carmakers and suppliers around the world free access to nearly 24,000 patents for electric vehicle technologies.

Executive vice-president Shigeki Terashi told Reuters earlier this month that the carmaker intended to become a tier-2 supplier of hybrid systems and that it had already received inquiries from more than 50 companies.

Later yesterday, Toyota said it had started to supply fuel cell vehicle parts to Chinese commercial vehicle maker Foton and SinoHytec, without giving financial details of the deal.

The company said in a statement that it hopes to cooperate with more companies in China to promote fuel cell vehicle penetration.

REUTERS