To help heavy-duty Class 8 commercial truck OEMs and operators comply with ever-tightening emissions regulations in the state of California, Toyota has revealed that it has been granted a Zero Emission Powertrain (ZEP) Executive Order from the California Air Resources Board (CARB) for its new heavy-duty fuel cell electric powertrain. The hydrogen-fueled powertrain kit consists of hydrogen fuel storage tanks, fuel cell stacks, batteries, electric motors and a transmission.
The ZEP Executive Order from CARB certifies that a powertrain complies with its regulations for zero-emission powertrains that meet specific emissions standards required for sale in California. OEMs and operators using Toyota’s powertrain may also be eligible for additional incentives, including CARB’s Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project, the Clean Truck Fund from the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, and other federal incentives.
Toyota’s CARB ZEP-certified powertrain kit is expected to enter production for customers later this year at the OEM’s manufacturing site in Kentucky.
The latest generation of powertrain benefits from improved energy efficiency and package size, and has been subjected to extensive real-world testing and development by the company’s fuel cell development engineering team.
“Toyota aims to reduce or eliminate emissions for all mobility solutions, and our fuel cell electric powertrains have proven that hydrogen can play a significant role in the emissions reduction of emissions from heavy-duty transportation,” said Scott Friedman, senior program manager advanced mobility, Toyota Motor North America.
“Receiving the Zero-Emission Powertrain Executive Order from CARB is a key achievement for our teams who have dedicated an incredible amount of time and effort, and we are excited to offer this powertrain commercially in the near future.”
“We believe hydrogen will play a significant role in the emissions reduction of heavy-duty transport while not sacrificing the distance, power or fueling times needed to keep these fleet and individual operators running,” said Chris Rovik, executive program manager, advanced mobility, Toyota Motor North America.
“Fuel cell technology is scalable, and we believe it will take an increasingly visible and important role in our collective fight to reduce and eliminate carbon as we move towards a hydrogen society.”