Toyota’s Hydrogen Fuel Cell Project Portal Class 8 Semi Truck
Toyota’s Project Portal
In April 2017, Toyota announced an ambitious plan to take components out of its hydrogen fuel cell Mirai and put them into a Class 8 truck. The idea was simple: reduce the pollution in the Los Angeles–Long Beach port complex with an alternative fuel. Six months later, Toyota started testing its Project Portal. Recently, we took an exclusive ride around the ports to see this one-of-a-kind truck in action.
Our day begins like any other typical day in the Los Angeles–Long Beach port complex for veteran truck driver Danny Gamboa. He makes sure the truck is fueled and road-compliant for various rules and regulations, and we climb into the cabin.
Releasing a familiar hiss as the air brakes let out, the truck rolls forward out of Toyota’s depot and heads toward the ports. Immediately, it is apparent to our ears something is much different compared to the diesel trucks.
“One of the things I noticed when I first started driving on the streets is how I can hear the suspension,” Gamboa said. “In a typical diesel truck, you can’t hear any of that stuff. You basically blast the stereo because all you can hear is the engine. This Project Portal is so quiet.”
The streets surrounding the Los Angeles–Long Beach port complex are a mishmash of residential housing, schools, interstates, shipping depots, and docks all intertwined in a hastily arranged city. Every day, 19,000 cargo containers are moved out of these ports with diesel-powered “drayage” trucks, short-run cargo movers. The ports, surrounded by children and families enjoying the weather, are the largest single source of air pollution in Southern California.
Even though the air quality isn’t great, the ports can’t afford to slow down. In 2018, the Port of Los Angeles had the busiest February in its 111-year history, and the Port of Long Beach reported a 32 percent increase compared to 2017, according to a Transport Topics report. These ports need to continue growing to meet demands, yet they are faced with meeting new and more stringent air-quality standards. The Los Angeles–Long Beach port complex approved plans in November 2017 to phase out diesel trucks in favor of natural gas and other low-emission powertrains by 2035.
Toyota plans to meet that goal and then some, thanks to zero-emissions fuel-cell technology.
After building the Project Portal using two Mirai fuel stacks and an electric motor producing 670 hp and 1375 lb-ft of torque (capable of hauling 80,000 pounds more than 200 miles), the team is set on putting the truck to work testing out the concept. Project Portal has been on the job since October 2017. Through a partnership with Southern Counties Express, Toyota’s parts shipper, Project Portal logs around 10 hours a day with Gamboa behind the wheel delivering cargo back and forth from ports to distribution centers. He mostly hauls Toyota parts like bumpers, airbags, and batteries for EV cars and hybrids.
Riding shotgun with Gamboa in the truck with the windows down on this warm day, you can hear the familiar rumbling of the diesel engines all around us. Four lanes of traffic are often filled with trucks making similar runs. Many of these truck drivers are curious about the new truck and stare openly as we pass by. We get several thumbs-ups as they realize what the truck is fueled with.
