US Hybrid unveils new Class 8 fuel cell port drayage truck for San Pedro Ports

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Green Car Congress  /  May 3, 2017

US Hybrid has unveiled a zero-emission Class 8 fuel cell port drayage truck featuring its PEM fuel cell system during the Advanced Clean Transportation (ACT) Expo at the Long Beach Convention Center. The truck, which will be operated by Total Transportation Solutions, Inc (TTSI), is one of two fuel cell demonstration tractors scheduled for delivery at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. (Earlier post.)

The fuel cell tractor, a Navistar International ProStar day cab, features US Hybrid’s FCe80, 80 kW PEM fuel cell system and a 500 hp traction motor with 2,900 lb-ft of direct drive torque (3,750 N·m). It has a gross vehicle weight rating of 80,000 pounds, an estimated driving range of 200 miles under normal drayage operation, and can be fully refueled in less than nine minutes.

US Hybrid plans to expand its Connecticut production facility via an expanded partnership with China-based Jiangsu Dewei Advanced Materials. The US FuelCell, Inc. (USFC) facility—originally a wholly owned subsidiary of US Hybrid, but now owned by both Dewei and US Hybrid—will focus on the production of US Hybrid’s PEM fuel cell systems, including the FCe80, an 80kW fuel cell engine for heavy-duty trucks and transit buses, and the FCe40, an 40kW fuel cell engine for class 6 and 7 trucks and medium-duty transit buses. (Dewei also has a small equity investment in US Hybrid.)

The compact and high efficiency FCe80 and FCe40 units have been designed to be integrated, controlled, and serviced just like a conventional engine with J1939 diagnostics and easy access to critical components to minimize service time. The FC engines are utilizing US Hybrid’s advanced freeze capable technology, which enables start at temperatures as low as -30 degrees Celsius without a cold climate option package.

USFC anticipates production and delivery of more than 1,200 PEM fuel cell engines in the next 36 months. The expansion of production facilities in US and China will enable the company to build and deliver 2,000 fuel cell engines per year in the US and additional 2,000 engines in China.

The higher-volume fuel cell engine production capability will enable fleets to realize a comparable return on investment as other clean fuel engines.

Dewei is committed to the successful development of fuel cell technology for commercial buses and trucks, as evidenced by our $42.8 million (RMB 300 million) investment in Chinese fuel cell production and establishment of a $428 million (RMB 3000 million) industrial fund. This new partnership with US Hybrid will enable US FuelCell to meet market demand cost-competitively in China, North America, and Europe.

—Zhou Jianming, Dewei Chairman

US Hybrid Corporation has provided electric and hybrid-traction drive systems for medium- and heavy-duty commercial trucks, municipality vehicles, and fuel cell transit buses throughout the world, with more than one million accumulated kilometers of operation.

Notable recent integration projects include hybrid street sweepers for the New York Department of Sanitation, hybrid port trucks for the New York Container terminals, fuel cell buses for Sunline Transit, fuel cell powered class-8 drayage trucks for operation at the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Houston, and a range of full cell vehicles (shuttle buses, step vans, military vehicles, port trucks) for Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii. US Hybrid is also providing Caltrans with a fuel cell street sweeper.

Dewei, established in 1995, is the largest high molecular material producer and distributor in China. The rapidly growing company, which is a supplier for General Motors, Volkswagen and Toyota, and a key shareholder of Guizhou Aerospace Special Vehicle Co., has recently experienced nearly 30% year-over-year revenue increases.

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