Toyota and Kenworth joined with the Port of Los Angeles and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) this week to unveil their jointly developed fuel-cell electric heavy-duty truck (FCET), the first vehicle of its kind.
The zero-emission truck was debuted during a special event held at the Port of Los Angeles. Toyota and Kenworth will deploy a total of 10 trucks as part of the Zero-and-Near-Zero-Emission Freight Facilities Project (ZANZEFF), hauling cargo received at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach throughout the Los Angeles area.
“Toyota is committed to fuel cell electric technology as a powertrain for the future because it’s a clean, scalable platform that can meet a broad range of mobility needs with zero emissions,” says Bob Carter, executive vice president for automotive operations at Toyota.
The new truck expands on the capabilities of Toyota’s first two Project Portal Proof of Concept trucks, featuring enhanced capability, packaging and performance, and offering an estimated range of more than 300 miles per fill – twice that of a typical drayage truck’s average daily duty cycle.
CARB has awarded $41 million to the Port of Los Angeles for the ZANZEFF project as part of the California Climate Investments initiative.
“It will provide a real world at-work demonstration of innovative heavy-duty fuel cell electric technologies,” says CARB Chair Mary D. Nichols. “The project offers a commercial solution to move cargo and freight around the state using zero-emission trucks and equipment.”
Since operations began in April 2017, the Project Portal concept 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. The first Kenworth/Toyota FCET – which utilizes the Kenworth T680 Class 8 model combined with Toyota’s fuel-cell electric technology – will begin drayage operations in the fourth quarter.
The 10 FCETs under the ZANZEFF project will be operated by Toyota Logistics Services, UPS, Total Transportation Services Inc. and Southern Counties Express.