PLANO, Texas — Touted as “the future of heavy-duty trucking,” two fuel cell electric heavy duty Class 8 trucks built under the Zero and Near Zero Emissions Freight Forwarding (ZANZEFF) project are scheduled for delivery this month to demonstration fleet customers. ZANZEFF is sponsored by the state of California.
Toyota Logistics Services and Southern Counties Express each will receive a Kenworth T680 Class 8 truck powered by a Toyota fuel-cell electric drivetrain. Both of the zero-emissions trucks will be used for drayage operations in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.
“We have been involved with Toyota’s hydrogen truck project since the beginning and we are excited to see the latest models now being released for further testing,” said Gordon Reimer, president of Southern Counties Express. “We are proud to be associated with the Toyota research and development team, and look forward to the continued progress of this technology.”
An additional eight trucks will be delivered in 2021 as part of the ZANZEFF program. Three of the eight trucks will go to UPS for its port operations, while two of the eight trucks will go to Total Transportation Services, another prominent port operator. Toyota Logistics Services receive the remaining three trucks.
“After extensive testing with our proof-of-concept prototypes, we’re ready for the next step of putting more trucks into drayage operations,” said Andrew Lund, chief engineer for Toyota Research and Development. “Moving toward emissions-free trucks is more important than ever, and the ZANZEFF project has been instrumental in getting us closer to that goal.”
Development of the Kenworth T680 fuel-cell electric vehicle (FCEV) is part of a $41 million ZANZEFF grant awarded by the California Air Resources Board (CARB), with the Port of Los Angeles as the prime applicant. CARB has awarded those funds to the Port of Los Angeles for the ZANZEFF project as part of California Climate Investments, a California initiative that puts billions of cap-and-trade dollars to work reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening the economy, and improving public health and the environment.
“The port is currently engaged in 16 different zero-emission demonstration projects to support development of on-road trucks that we expect will help bring feasible zero-emission technology to the marketplace,” said Chris Cannon, chief sustainability officer for the Port of Los Angeles.
“Conversion of the port drayage fleet to zero-emission technology involves tremendous financial investment and will take the collaboration and commitment of many stakeholders — both public and private — to create a viable market for zero-emissions drayage technology,” Cannon continued. “We are proud of our continuing partnership under this project to deploy these trucks as an important step in verifying the capabilities and role of hydrogen fuel cell technology in the path to zero emissions.”
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