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Toyota’s philosophy is to specify small batteries and let the fuel cell take
care of providing most of the power.associated battery that the powertrain uses. The Mirai uses a
1.6-kWh nickel-metal hydride battery for extra power, while the
semi-trucks use a 12-kWh battery.
“The Mirai battery is very small, but maybe a pick-up will
use one Mirai fuel cell and a larger battery,” he said. “When
the battery becomes too large to cover the segment, maybe
that’s when we move to two fuel cells. Our concept is to use
small batteries and that the fuel cell would take care of most
of the power. When more power is required for an uphill
climb, for example, then the battery would contribute.”
So far, for over two years and 14,000 miles (22,530 km) of
real-world drayage use in and around the ports of Los
Angeles and Long Beach, Toyota’s first two Project Portal
trucks have shown that a 12-kWh battery is enough. But
Toyota has not done any aggressive, on-road testing of its
hydrogen semi in rougher terrain just yet, Yokoo said.
Toyota and Kenworth are planning to put 10 vehicles into
service to move cargo in the warm and mostly flat lands of
the Los Angeles basin around the Ports of Los Angeles and
Long Beach as part CARB’s ZANZEFF project. These trucks
have a range of more than 300 miles (483 km), which is more
than double the average daily duty cycle of drayage trucks.
These specs work for now, but any future semis that will be
designed for use in other areas might need a bigger battery
or more hydrogen tanks for longer range, Yokoo conceded.
“I believe that 12 kWh will not be large enough for going
across mountains,” Yokoo said. At least the type of fuel-cell
stack in those potential trucks is relatively set in stone.
Sebastian Blanco