After
showing its second-generation fuel-cell semi-truck at the Port of Los
Angeles in July, Toyota announced last week it will build 10 more
fuel-cell trucks for the project.
In
addition to the trucks, the project will add two new heavy-duty
hydrogen fillings stations, two new hydrogen forklifts at Toyota's
warehouse at the next-door Port of Long Beach, and two new
zero-emissions yard tractors at the nearby Port of Hueneme.
The
California Air Resources Board will provide $41 million of funding for
the project. Toyota, Shell, and Kenworth, which builds the trucks, will
provide the balance of the project costs, which totals $82 million.
The
Port of Los Angeles is the largest in the country, and has been
targeted by the state for investments in zero emissions technology.
In
July, Toyota revealed its second-generation fuel-cell semi truck after
operating a proof-of-concept prototype for the previous year. The
updated model can go 300 miles between hydrogen refills, rather than 200
for the initial truck, and has a small sleeper in the back of the cab,
which the first truck lacked.
The
trucks use two fuel-cell stacks from the Toyota Mirai fuel-cell car to
deliver 670 horsepower and 1,325 pound-feet of torque, and include a
12-kwh battery pack to store power.
The
trucks will ferry cargo from the Port of LA to Ontario, California,
where Shell is installing the two new hydrogen filling stations to
complement facilities already in the Port of LA.
The
projects are part of Toyota's efforts to eliminate CO2 emissions from
its logistics facility in the next-door Port Long Beach, where it is
building a combined power facility to produce electricity, water, and
hydrogen to power the trucks from agricultural wastes.
The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are primary focus of California's efforts to clean up its air.
About 40 percent of all imports and exports traveling to and from the
U.S. come through the ports, creating a concentration of diesel trucks
that has been linked to poor health in the area.
California
is expanding efforts to replace those trucks with zero-emissions
battery-electric and fuel-cell replacements. Toyota's agreement is the
largest part of the hydrogen initiative in the area. The state is also
expanding infrastructure to charge a growing number of electric drayage
trucks and other equipment at the facility.
