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Hyundai to test Class 8 fuel cell trucks at Port of Oakland

The nonprofit Center for Transportation and the Environment (CTE) has won a grant to support the deployment of 30 Hyundai XCIENT Class 8 hydrogen fuel cell electric trucks in northern California. The trucks will serve the Port of Oakland. Each has a range of over 400 miles, enough to make runs from Oakland to Sacramento, Stockton, Modesto or Fresno.

Hyundai has been testing some 50 of its XCIENT Class 8 trucks with fleet customers in Switzerland for almost a year now.

The NorCAL ZERO project, which was awarded by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and the California Energy Commission (CEC), involves more than a dozen companies and organizations. CTE helped to assemble the team and develop the proposal, and will serve as project manager. Glovis America will operate the fleet, and the Macquarie Group will provide financing.

The project includes a liquid hydrogen fueling station adjacent to the Port of Oakland that will support up to 50 trucks. FirstElement Fuel will build and operate the station, and Air Liquide will provide the hydrogen fuel. NorCAL Kenworth will maintain and service the trucks, and will upgrade its maintenance facility with hydrogen detection and ventilation equipment, with engineering and design support from the Fiedler Group.

“These investments will support zero-emission trucks and infrastructure development and deployment as part of the US market ecosystem,” said Hannon Rassool, Deputy Director of the Fuels and Transportation Division at the CEC. “Public and private project partners have come together to take a big step forward in decarbonizing freight and goods movement, as part of CARB and CEC’s clean air initiatives.”

“Diesel pollution is the most significant toxic air pollutant in the Bay Area, and the deployment of these electric trucks will help improve air quality across the region but especially in communities near the Port of Oakland,” said Jack Broadbent, Executive Officer of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District.

“By introducing Hyundai into the fuel cell electric truck market, the NorCal Drayage project, supported by cap-and-trade proceeds, holds promise for further electrification of our nation’s truck fleets,” said CARB Executive Officer Richard W. Corey. “It also puts us one step closer to accelerating our goals for zero-emission drayage trucks, a crucial step for improving air quality in communities adjacent to our ports and along our major freight corridors.”

“The deployment of these trucks in northern California provides a groundbreaking opportunity to demonstrate the exceptional performance of fuel cell electric trucks for an industry that has traditionally relied on conventional diesel and CNG vehicles,” said Jaimie Levin, CTE’s Director of West Coast Operations.

Source: Center for Transportation and the Environment

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