The capability of its heavy-duty hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) has been successfully demonstrated after rigorous testing, automakers Toyota Motor North America and Kenworth Truck Company said Friday.
These vehicles were designed together for a “zero emissions” project to replace diesel trucks, and were tested at the new Zero and Near Zero Emissions Freight Facility (ZANZEFF) in the Port of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Basin, Angeles and the Inland Empire.
The primary goal of Toyota and Kenworth's involvement in the project was to try to match the performance of diesel-powered haul trucks while eliminating polluting emissions to provide a sustainable heavy-haul solution.
The comparative baseline for the Toyota-Kenworth T680 FCEV truck, codenamed "Ocean," was a 2017 diesel engine running about 200 miles per day.
The T680 FCEV proved to have a superior range of more than 300 miles when fully charged, and by operating non-stop between shifts for charging and the short 15-20 minute fill time, it could run multiple shifts a day and cover up to 400 to 500 miles.
Kenworth designed and built the Class 8 T680 FCEVs, while Toyota designed and built the hydrogen-powered powertrain's fuel cell electric power system. Ocean trucks reduced Greenhouse Gases (GHG) by 74.
The success of the 10 trucks in serving real-world customers was the result of close collaboration between various project partners, including Kenworth and Toyota, the Port of Los Angeles as project lead, Shell for the hydrogen fuel infrastructure and a grant from California Air.
The program paves the way for further development and commercial opportunities for hydrogen-powered fuel cell electric transportation in California and neighboring states.
Although they officially concluded their roles in the project called ZANZEFF "Shore to Store" on August 5, 2022, some of the trucks will remain in use as demonstration or working models, including one that will continue to support Toyota's operations in the lower basin. of the Angels.
The “Shore to Store” project provided one of the largest real-world prototype tests to demonstrate the practical application of hydrogen-powered fuel cell technology in a framework for cargo facilities for the future movement of goods in the world. world.
The 10 "Ocean" trucks for this project were operated by customers including, but not limited to, Toyota Logistics Services, Total Transportation Services, Inc. and Southern Counties Express.
With the completion of this project, the door is now open for the use of this technology to be more widely adopted in other heavy-duty applications, including the growing use of heavy-duty electric trucks in commercial transportation.
