The Kenworth T680 was the featured Class 8 truck at a major, zero-emissions trucking event that featured more than 100 participants from government, industry, local community, and the media held at the Port of Los Angeles.
Kenworth Truck Company and Toyota Motor North America are collaborating to develop 10 zero-emissions Kenworth T680s powered by Toyota hydrogen fuel cell electric powertrains. The jointly developed Kenworth / Toyota Fuel Cell Electric Truck (FCET) debuted at the event. The truck will be on display in the Kenworth booth (No. 939) at the Advanced Clean Technology (ACT) Expo at the Long Beach Convention Center.
The new generation zero-emission truck expands on the capabilities of Toyota’s first two Project Portal Proof-of-Concept trucks through enhanced capability, packaging, and performance while offering an estimated range of more than 300 miles per fill, twice that of a typical drayage truck’s average daily duty cycle. Toyota and Kenworth will deploy a total of 10 trucks as part of the Zero and Near-Zero Emissions Freight Facilities Project (ZANZEFF), hauling cargo received at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, throughout the LA Basin.
Since operations began in April 2017, the Project Portal “Alpha” and “Beta” Proof of Concept Class 8 trucks have logged more than 14,000 miles of testing and real-world drayage operations in and around the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach while emitting nothing but water vapor. The first Kenworth/Toyota Fuel Cell Electric Truck (FCET) under the ZANZEFF project will begin drayage operations in the fourth quarter, increasing the ports’ zero emission trucking capacity and further reducing the environmental impact of drayage operations.
The effort is part of a $41 million ZANZEFF grant awarded by the California Air Resources Board (CARB), with the Port of Los Angeles as the prime applicant. CARB has awarded those funds to the Port of Los Angeles for the ZANZEFF project as part of California Climate Investments, a California initiative that puts billions of cap-and-trade dollars to work reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening the economy, and improving public health and the environment — particularly in disadvantaged communities.
“This cooperative effort among the Port of Los Angeles, Kenworth, Toyota, and Shell is key to the development of hydrogen fuel cell electric technology in Class 8 trucks. The goal is to demonstrate and further develop advanced zero-emissions powertrains for commercial vehicles,” said Mike Dozier, Kenworth general manager and PACCAR vice president. “The performance of the 10 Kenworth heavy duty trucks being developed under this program is targeted to meet or exceed that of a diesel, while producing water as the only emissions byproduct,” Dozier said.
The program’s trucking partners are Toyota Logistics Services, UPS, TTSI, and Southern Counties Express. The fleets will run the Kenworth T680s, equipped with Toyota’s hydrogen fuel cell electric technology, in real-world operations, which will provide critical data for future development of the zero emissions powertrain. Also, important for commercial adoption is the hydrogen fueling infrastructure growth funded by the grant. The program will expand the quantity and accessibility of heavy duty hydrogen fueling stations in the ports and across the Inland Empire regions. Shell will develop two large capacity heavy duty hydrogen fueling stations.
Ten new zero-emissions fuel-cell-electric Kenworth/Toyota FCET will be developed through a collaboration between Kenworth and Toyota to move cargo from the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports throughout the Los Angeles area, the Inland Empire, the Port of Hueneme, and eventually to Merced. The trucks will be operated by Toyota Logistics Services (4), United Parcel Services (3), Total Transportation Services Inc. (2), and Southern Counties Express (1).
Two new large capacity heavy-duty hydrogen fueling stations will be developed by Shell in Wilmington and Ontario, California. The two new stations will join three additional stations located at Toyota’s Long Beach Logistics Services and Gardena R&D facilities to form an integrated, five-station heavy-duty hydrogen fueling network for the Los Angeles basin. Together, these stations will provide multiple sources of hydrogen throughout the region, including over 1 ton of 100% renewable hydrogen per day at the Toyota Logistics Services station to be operated by Shell, and important research and development advances at a pair of stations operated by Air Liquide, all enabling zero-emissions freight transport.
The program is utilizing the Kenworth T680. “The T680 is [a] perfect choice for this zero-emissions application with its proven reliability and durability and provides the perfect foundation on which to develop the hydrogen fuel cell powertrain,” Dozier said.
“Our experienced dealer network covering the Inland Empire will provide support the program’s zero-emissions vehicles. With the stability of the service network, we are well-positioned to meet the ‘Shore-to-Store’ program goals,” Dozier said.
