With support from the California Air Resources Board, Japanese car giant Toyota and truck maker are collaborating to build and develop a limited run of hydrogen fuel trucks. The vehicles, that are Kenworth T680 trucks changed by Toyota’s hydrogen fuel cell powertrains, are anticipated to drive on routes around Los Angeles and further inland into San Bernardino. The real specs of these vehicles have not been declared by either company, but the assortment of the hydrogen fuel cell T680 trucks are thought to be 300 miles in “normal drayage operating conditions. ”
Toyota and Paccar, the parent company behind Kenworth, took the wraps off the hydrogen fuel cell long-hauler in this particular month ’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The car, which can be categorized as a Class 8 truck, stands to be a possible competitor for upcoming all-electric trucks like the Tesla Semi later on. In a statement to CNBC, Brian Lindgren, Kenworth’therefore director of research and development, noted that utilizing hydrogen as a source of propulsion makes more sense of Class 8 vehicles compared to batteries, that power vehicles like Tesla’s all-electric long-hauler.
“We think that carrying electricity in the form of hydrogen for heavy-duty Class 8 trucks creates more sense than transporting it because the trucks can be refilled faster and provide longer array,” he explained.
Lindgren’s point about faster refilling times for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles is very justified, considering that a passenger automobile such as a Toyota Mirai could refill its tank around 300 miles of range in roughly 5 minutes. That’s considerably faster compared to Tesla’s Superchargers, that might be capable of charging approximately 200 miles of range in 30 minutes. Bigger vehicles such as the hydrogen-electric Kenworth T680 trucks could probably take longer to refill compared to a passenger automobile such as the Mirai, however there’therefore a great probability that the long-hauler could still refill its tank faster compared to Tesla Semi may charge its batteries, even if it is plugged to the upcoming Megacharger Network.
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Toyota-Paccar’s Kenworth T680 hybrid fuel cell trucks caught the interest of some CES attendees on account of the vehicle’s silent operation, which is nearly comparable to an all-electric truck. Lindgren, for his part, also noted that motorists that have operated the truck really appreciated the delight of the car or truck. “Drivers like these trucks since they’re peppy and silent,” he explained.
Andy Lund, the Toyota main engineer on the job, further stated that the hydrogen-electric trucks would have exactly the same payload capacity for a diesel rig. Unlike its fossil fuel-powered sockets, the hydrogen fuel cell Kenworth T680 long-haulers would just require a four-speed transmission, that is far simpler compared to 18-gear transmissions normally fitted on Class 8 diesel trucks.
When there’s one thing that would likely go against Toyota and Paccar’s hydrogen trucks, even however, it would function as fuel efficiency. Kenworth’s director of research and development mentioned that the prototype trucks currently absorb hydrogen at around the same rate as present diesel trucks, at approximately 5-7 mpg. The only advantage of these vehicles, of course, is that the trucks would just produce water vapor out of their exhausts. That is a significant advantage, considering that the trucking business accounts for approximately 23% of carbon emissions from transport in 2016, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
Nevertheless, this would be something that Tesla could capitalize on. Throughout the electric long-hauler’s unveiling, Musk noticed that the Semi would price operators 1.26 a mile to run, significantly less than the typical $1.51 per mile that diesel-powered vehicles price. Musk’s quote has been met by disbelief by veterans of the trucking business, but in the event the Tesla Semi’s managing costs remain authentic to this CEO’s quote, then the car would most certainly give itself a remarkable advantage over petrol and hydrogen-powered competitions when it begins operating on America’s roads.
Hydrogen fuel cells stay a viable alternative for sustainable transport. Elon Musk, for a person, has openly discussed his dislike for hydrogen-electric transport. In a statement to Autocar at 2014, for starters, Musk went so far as to explain hydrogen fuel cell programs as “mind-bogglingly dumb. ”
“They’re mind-bogglingly dumb. You can’t actually have a sensible debate. Consider the entire fuel cell system against a Model S. It’therefore far worse in volume and mass terms, and far, far, worse at price. And I harbor ’t even talked about hydrogen being so hard to deal with. Success is not really possible. Producers do it [FCEVs] since theyrsquo;re under pressure to reveal they’do some thing ‘constructive’ about sustainability. They feel it’therefore better to be working on a way a generation away rather than something just around the corner. Hydrogen is always labeled the fuel of the future — and always will be,” Musk stated.
Elon Musk initially declared that the Tesla Semi would start production sometime in 2019. Nevertheless, later statements against Tesla’s head of investor relations Martin Viecha implied that the electric automobile maker would “earnestly” start producing that the Semi from 2020.
The article Tesla Semi gets ‘peppy and quiet’ hydrogen fuel mobile competition from Kenworth-Toyota appeared initially on TESLARATI.com.
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