Toyota has unveiled its second prototype of the Project Portal hydrogen fuel cell truck. This "Beta," as Toyota refers to it internally, is the second iteration of the truck, adding more range, more room in the cab, and better usability. This is a more commercially-viable truck, Toyota says.
The new Project Portal Beta truck builds on the lessons learned from the Alpha truck introduced in 2017. That original rendition has logged more than 10,000 miles (16,093 km) of real-world drayage (container moving) operations in the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. The Alpha truck continues to run as Toyota prepares to send the Beta truck into the same workspace later this year.
"We needed to move beyond a proof of concept, which the first truck accomplished, to something that is not only better than the original but is also more commercially viable," said Andrew Lund, chief engineer for Project Portal at the Beta truck's launch.
The Beta, or Project Portal 2.0, truck has a similar drivetrain to the original, using the same motors for the same 670-plus horsepower (500 kW) and 1,325 pound-feet (1,796 Nm) of torque. The electronics, wiring, 12-kWh battery, and fuel cell technologies used in the Toyota Mirai fuel cell vehicle are being used in the Project Portal trucks. What's changed with the Beta edition is an added capacity for hydrogen storage to extend range by about 50 percent.
At the same time, hydrogen storage tanks have been reconfigured to add more interior room without extending the wheelbase or affecting trailering operations. Toyota did this and created more usability and refinement to accommodate the driver and those who work around the truck. The truck also anticipates the company's installation of a huge hydrogen fueling station at the ports.
The Tri-Gen facility will be the first megawatt-sized carbonate fuel cell power generation plant in the world. Using 100 percent renewables, the plant will utilize agricultural waste to generate the water and hydrogen required to support the logistics of the project trucks and electricity for use in the Port of Long Beach.
You can see the build process, in the following video.
Source: Toyota
The Tri-Gen facility will be the first megawatt-sized carbonate fuel cell power generation plant in the world. Using 100 percent renewables, the plant will utilize agricultural waste to generate the water and hydrogen required to support the logistics of the project trucks and electricity for use in the Port of Long Beach."
As you can see, quoted from the article above, they are addressing the hydrogen supply and sourcing issues. And of course Elon Musk is going to say Hydrogen isn't worth it, he is trying to get everyone to buy electric cars (when he's not calling people pedophiles, apparently). Unless battery composition changes drastically, it's got no chance of being practical for 80% of drivers. And if you could charge as many cars, as quickly, as you do at gas stations now, do you have ANY idea of how much electrical power would have to be fed to every "gas" station in the country? It's impossible, and our grid could never handle it. Fuel Cell Vehicles (which are basically a hybrid that runs on hydrogen instead of gas) are one of the best answers, long term, to fossil fuels. Hydrogen can be transported similarly to gasoline/diesel, with new tanks in the ground. Still daunting, but not impossible. The other answer is synthetic fuels, which lots of oil companies, and some automakers are working on. They're typically sourced by renewables, and intended to run in existing combustion engines.
Infrastructure feasibility + quick refueling + renewable energy
Hydrogen can do this. Synthetic Fuels can do this. Pure Electrics can not do this.
A few people charging Tesla on Superchargers for 45 minutes, do not satisfy the first two requirements for long term success.