The possible future of heavy-duty trucking recently hit the streets in the form iof “Project Portal” – a hydrogen fuel cell system designed for heavy-duty truck use, by Toyota North America.  The zero-emission class 8 truck proof of concept has completed more than 4,000 successful development miles, while progressively pulling drayage rated cargo weight, and emitting nothing but water vapor.

With testing and development miles completed, Project Portal is ready to go to work. Initial feasibility study routes, moving goods from select Port of Los Angeles and Long Beach terminals to surrounding rail yards and warehouses for distribution, will begin on October 23rd.  It’s estimated the truck’s daily trips will total around 200 miles. These localized, frequent route patterns are designed to test the demanding drayage duty-cycle capabilities of the fuel cell system while capturing real world performance data.  As the study progresses, longer haul routes will be introduced.

The initial feasibility study operations will be managed by the TMNA Project Portal team, in collaboration with Toyota’s Service Parts Accessories Operations group and its drayage provider, Southern Counties Express (SCE).