Toyota working on fuel cell truck with Kenworth

Truck maker Kenworth and Toyota Motor North America are collaborating to develop ten trucks using Toyota fuel cell technology. The hydrogen trucks are to run at the Port of Los Angeles and are part of a million dollar initiative funded by CARB.

The development cooperation between Toyota and Kenworth in California will receive some money through the $41-million Zero and Near-Zero Emissions Freight Facilities (ZANZEFF) grant preliminarily awarded by the California Air Resources Board (CARB), with the Port of Los Angeles as the prime applicant.

The grant monies are part of a larger $82-million program that will put fuel cell electric tractors, hydrogen fueling infrastructure, and zero emissions cargo handling equipment into operation in the ports and Los Angeles basin in 2020.

The Kenworth T680s will transport cargo across the Los Angeles basin and to inland cities such as Ontario and San Bernardino while generating zero emissions.

For Toyota, it is an effort to build on experience and Bob Carter, executive vice president, Toyota Motor North America specified that the fuel cell trucks will have “a range of more than 300 miles under normal drayage operating conditions”.

The effort is in line with the Japanese company’s strategy to apply fuel cell technology first developed for the Mirai FCEV to utility vehicles such as the Sora hydrogen bus.

Also reaching out to other vehicle manufacturers to sell their FCEV technology is not new to Toyota that most recently agreed on a deal with Caetano of Portugal reportedly.

For the programme with Kenworth at hand in California, the funding includes hydrogen fuel infrastructure, with two new fueling stations that will most likely be developed through Shell Oil Products US.

The Kenworth T680s fuel cell electric trucks are to go into operation in Los Angeles next year together with other zero-emission vehicles and equipment.

toyota.com (press release)