Trucking news and briefs for Monday, Sept. 26, 2022:
With no downtime between shifts for charging and the short 15- to 20-minute fill time, the FCEVs could run multiple shifts a day and cover up to 400 to 500 miles, the companies said.
The primary goal for Toyota and Kenworth’s participation in the project was to nearly match the performance of diesel-powered drayage trucks while eliminating emissions to provide a sustainable solution in heavy-duty transportation.
The baseline for the Toyota-Kenworth T680 FCEV truck – codenamed “Ocean” – was a 2017 diesel engine operating about 200 miles a day. The T680 FCEV has a range of about 300+ miles when fully loaded to 82,000 pounds. With no downtime between shifts for charging and the short 15- to 20-minute fill time, the FCEVs could run multiple shifts a day and cover up to 400 to 500 miles, the companies said.
Kenworth designed and built the Class 8 T680 FCEVs, while Toyota designed and built the powertrain’s fuel-cell electric power system powered by hydrogen. The Ocean trucks reduced Greenhouse Gases (GHG) by 74.66 metric tons of CO2 per truck annually compared to the baseline diesel engine.
The success of the 10 trucks in serving real-world customers was a result of close collaboration among diverse project members, including Kenworth and Toyota, the Port of Los Angeles as the project lead, Shell for hydrogen fuel infrastructure, and a grant from the California Air Resource Board (CARB). The program paves the way for further development and commercial opportunities for hydrogen-powered fuel-cell electric transportation in California and beyond.
Though officially concluding their duties in the ZANZEFF “Shore to Store” project on Aug. 5, some of the trucks will remain in use as demonstration or working models, including one that will continue supporting Toyota operations in the lower LA Basin.
