Toyota unveils second-generation hydrogen-powered semi truck

Toyota just doubled the size of its hydrogen-powered truck fleet.

From one to two.

(Hey, it’s a start.)

The automaker on Monday unveiled the second generation of its Project Portal semi-truck, which is larger, lighter and has a longer range than the original that was put to work shipping cargo between the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles last year and has since covered over 10,000 miles.

Both of the Class 8 trucks use technology from the Toyota Mirai hydrogen fuel cell car and emit only water vapor as emissions. The fuel cell generates electricity to power two electric motors with a combined output of 670 hp and 1,327 lb-ft of torque.

The new truck – based again on a Kenworth as Toyota’s Hino truck division doesn’t make a truck this big – uses 10 fuel tanks instead of 6, which increases its range from 200 to 300 miles.

Toyota and its technology partner Ricardo are considering turning the system into an easy to install module, according to Trucks.com, but for now the new red Beta truck will join the blue Alpha in southern California for additional tests down at the docks.