DALLAS -- Toyota plans to test a heavy-duty truck powered by a hydrogen fuel-cell system at the Port of Los Angeles as part of a feasibility study beginning this summer.
Toyota made the announcement of “Project Portal” in Los Angeles with representatives of the port, the California Air Resources Board, and the California Energy Commission.
“The zero-emission truck proof of concept will take part in a feasibility study examining the potential of fuel cell technology in heavy-duty applications,” the company said in a statement on Wednesday.
A Toyota spokeswoman noted that the test subject is a Kenworth truck "with Toyota fuel cell guts."
Project Portal is a fully functioning heavy-duty truck with the power and torque to conduct port duties while emitting nothing but water vapor, much like the Mirai fuel-cell sedan that Toyota sells and leases in a swath of southern California where re-charging stations are available.
“CARB will be following the progress of this feasibility study with interest, as we look to develop the best mix of regulations and incentives to rapidly expand the market for the cleanest, most efficient big trucks to meet the need for dramatic change in the freight sector,” said Mary Nichols, chair of the air resources board.
Bob Carter, executive vice president of Toyota Motor North America, said the project is an extension of the brand’s production of one of the first mass-market fuel-cell vehicles, the introduction of fuel cells in buses in Japan, and the exploration of the benefits of a zero-emission heavy-truck platform.