The Center for Transportation and the Environment (CTE) is the prime recipient and project manager of a grant to support the deployment of 30 Hyundai XCIENT Class 8 hydrogen fuel cell electric trucks (FCET) in Northern California. The grant is partially funded by California Climate Investments and was awarded by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and the California Energy Commission (CEC) Clean Transportation Program. Funding from CARB is supporting vehicle financing while funding from CEC is supporting the infrastructure and maintenance facilities. The project is also funded by $7 million in cost-share funding provided by the Alameda County Transportation Commission and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District.
The vehicles were designed and manufactured by Hyundai Motor Company. Glovis America is operating the FCETs around the Port of Oakland with a heavy-duty hydrogen fueling station built and operated by FirstElement Fuel (FEF) located at the East Bay Municipal Utilities District facility in Oakland. When fully open, the station will support up to 200 trucks and back-to-back fueling with fuel provided by Air Liquide. With engineering and design support from the Fiedler Group, Papé Trucks upgraded its existing maintenance facility with hydrogen detection and ventilation equipment to safely service the FCETs. West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project is assisting the project team with community outreach efforts and communications with port officials, local agencies, and Oakland neighborhood groups. The University of California, Berkeley, is assisting the project team with data collection.
CTE is serving as the project manager, convening team members in regular sub-team meetings, managing the flow of funds and all communications with project team members, and leading the development of key project deliverables. CTE has successfully led the team in drafting a vehicle production plan describing the vehicle delivery timeline and plans for obtaining required certifications. CTE led a maintenance facility assessment to determine the upgrades for maintaining hydrogen-fueled vehicles at Papé Trucks and also led the team in drafting a community outreach plan detailing procedures for engaging the local community, including residents of West Oakland and local truck drivers that operate in and around the Port.
As of Q3 2024, Glovis has deployed all 30 trucks, fueled by FEF at their heavy-duty truck station. The light-duty station was opened to the public in July 2024 and the heavy-duty fueling station was opened for 24/7 operation on August 30, 2024.
CTE will continue to act as project manager for the remainder of the project and will support data reporting efforts during this period. The final deliverable for both the CARB and CEC projects will be a final report.
