Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/835233
26 commercial carrier journal | june 2017 Toyota to test hydrogen- powered big rig at L.A. ports this summer A uto maker Toyota last month unveiled a hydrogen fuel cell-pow- ered Class 8 truck that the company said pro- duces no emissions and little noise. e company will begin testing the truck at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach this summer as part of a "proof of concept" on the feasibility of using hydrogen-powered rigs in drayage operations. "Project Portal" is based on a Kenworth T660 and generates more than 670 hp and 1,325 lb.-. of torque. It's powered by two Mirai fuel-cell stacks and a 12 kilowatt-hour battery, giving the drayage truck more than 200 miles per fill under normal operation. e truck can haul loads up to 80,000 pounds. As part of this summer's study, the truck will carry containers from the two major Los Angeles-area ports to warehouses nearby. Kenworth, while not involved in Project Portal, said it is "delighted" to see Toyota using a T660 to test the hydrogen fuel technology. – James Jaillet Cummins Westport 'Moves to Zero' with NG lineup C ummins Westport Inc. announced its model-year 2018 nat- ural-gas engines for regional-haul, vocational, transit, school bus and refuse applications. e letter "N" denotes engines that are fueled by natural gas. e B6.7N, L9 and ISX12N engines feature U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and California Air Resources Board low-NOx certi- fication, onboard diagnostics, closed-crankcase ventilation systems and performance and reliability improvements. e ISX12N features a rede- signed fuel system with fewer parts to facilitate improved performance. Like the L9N that replaces the ISL G Near Zero, the 2018 ISX12N heavy-duty natural-gas engine for regional-haul, vocational and refuse applications also will be certified to EPA and CARB optional low-NOx emissions standards of 0.02 g/bhp-hr, Cummins said. e 6.7- to 12-liter engines are designed for truck and bus applications up to 80,000 pounds and to provide on-highway natural gas trucks with a 700-mile capability. e ISX12N will be manufactured at Cummins' heavy-duty engine plant in Jamestown, N.Y. e L9N and the B6.7N are manufactured at the company's midrange engine plant in Rocky Mount, N.C. All Cummins Westport engines can use compressed natural gas, liquefied natural gas or renewable natural gas. No diesel particulate filter or selective catalytic re- duction is required. – Jason Cannon Kenworth moves ahead with low-/zero-emissions T680s K enworth is deploying two low-/zero-emissions T680s for drayage operations in Southern California ports, thanks to $9 million in government grants awarded last August. Using a fuel cell provided by Ballard Power Systems, Kenworth is developing a prototype Class 8 hydrogen fuel-cell daycab trac- tor that uses lithium-ion batteries to power a dual-rotor electric motor, driving the rear tandem axle through a four-speed auto- mated transmission. e batteries are recharged by the fuel cell. Kenworth said its hydrogen truck is expected to be ready for initial track and on-road testing in the fourth quarter of this year. e truck maker last month began building a second pro- totype series hybrid-electric T680 daycab designed to produce near-zero emissions. e truck will use the currently available Cummins Westport ISL G Near Zero NOx engine fueled by compressed natural gas to generate electrical power. Initial track and road testing is expected to start in the fourth quarter. Kenworth said the two T680 tractors each will have an elec- tric-only range of about 30 miles, with the onboard fuel – hydro- gen or natural gas – designed to provide sufficient range for a full day in regional-haul applications. Kenworth's work on the two prototypes is supported by grants of $2.1 million for each project from the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, with Southern California's South Coast Air Quality Management Dis- trict as the prime applicant. – Jason Cannon Toyota based its hydrogen-powered rig on a Kenworth T660. All Cummins Westport engines can use CNG, LNG or renewable natural gas. Kenworth said the two initial T680 tractors will be identical except for their power generation systems: one a hydrogen fuel cell, the other a hybrid-electric setup.