Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/949884
28 commercial carrier journal | march 2018 A clean, quiet haul Kenworth's zero-emissions ZECT T680 ready for prime time BY JASON CANNON C alifornia Gov. Jerry Brown wants 5 million zero-emis- sions vehicles on state roads by 2030, and by spring, one of those will be shuffling around the ports of SoCal. Kenworth's hydrogen fuel cell Zero Emissions Cargo Transit (ZECT) T680 tractor is the fruit of a $7 million project between the Renton, Wash.-based truck maker, the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, and Southern California's South Coast Air Quality Management District. e truck has been undergoing test- ing in the Seattle area since December and is set to head off later this month to Total Transportation Services and the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Last month, I was able to partic- ipate in the testing of the no-NOx daycab around Mt. Vernon, Wash., and the Paccar Technical Center. With a range of 150 miles – up- wards of 30 miles in all-electric mode – and a top speed of 65 mph, the tractor uses lithium-ion batteries to power a dual-rotor electric motor that drives the rear tandem axle through a four-speed automated transmis- sion. Loaded to just south of 79,000 pounds, the truck builds speed quick- ly and silently with the equivalent of about 565 hp and just more than 1,850 lb.-. of torque. Brian Lindgren, Kenworth's man- ager of research and development, says that while the motors are rated at 420 kW at a constant rate, they will peak higher. However, the company has limited the truck's output to about 300 kW until all its systems can be validated. e torque at launch is noteworthy, but as the truck builds speed, it begins to feel more "normal" – but it certain- ly doesn't sound normal. Other than the faint whine of the cooling fans, the truck doesn't make much sound. With enough road noise, you'll forget you're driving a hydrogen-powered truck. Six onboard tanks – 5 kg each and pressurized to 5,000 psi – hold the equivalent of about 30 gallons of diesel and can be filled in less than 15 minutes. DOE estimates list 39 hydrogen retail stations nationwide with the highest concentration in California, but there are none in the 2,500 miles between California and South Carolina. e Ballard Power HC85 fuel cell – mounted where you would expect to find a Paccar MX engine – produces an electrical current of about 400 volts DC, which is converted to 650 volts DC and stored in a bank of batter- ies mounted under the cab. With an expected battery life of six to 10 years, the zero-emissions T680 is equipped with battery heaters and chillers to limit the effects of weather on their range. e shi to electric mobility generally places an electric motor on each wheel, but the T680 maintains a traditional standard driveline, with the dual-rotor AC motor in the frame sending power via the sha to a stan- dard rear end. Moving motors to the wheels normally changes the axle's unsprung dynamic characteristics, and by not changing how the wheel ends sit on the truck, Kenworth designers were able to spend more time developing the powertrain system. e T680 daycab's fuel cell com- bines compressed hydrogen gas and air to produce electricity with only T E S T D R I V E : K E N W O R T H H Y D R O G E N F U E L C E L L T 6 8 0 Kenworth's hydrogen fuel cell ZECT T680 uses lithium-ion batteries to power a dual-rotor electric motor that drives the rear tandem axle through an automated transmission.