Through a project led by Innovate BC, new zero and low-emission heavy-duty (HDZEV) trucks will be added to operations at the Port of Prince Rupert to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and support sustainability in the province’s transportation sector.
The HDZEV project will see four new trucks – two hydrogen powered, one battery electric and one hydrogen-diesel co-combustion – utilized on existing operational routes.
The Prince Rupert Port Authority is serving as the testbed partner for the project which will provide data to better understand the range, reliability and potential best use case for the vehicles.
Innovate BC is delivering the project through the Integrated Marketplace, which works to bolster innovation in the province by linking strategic buyers representing some of the province’s largest economic drivers to B.C.-based solution providers to implement, scale up, and ultimately export B.C. technology solutions.
“The Integrated Marketplace acts as a platform for partners like Prince Rupert Port Authority, which are key contributors to British Columbia’s economic growth, to de-risk the adoption of new technologies while supporting the decarbonization and innovation goals of their organizations and the province,” said Peter Cowan, President and CEO of Innovate BC.
“We are proud to lead this project and look forward to seeing its outcomes and generated data inform the greater adoption of zero emission vehicles across more industrial sectors here in B.C.”
In addition to the $2.45 million contributed to this project by the Government of British Columbia, the Government of Canada has provided $3 million and PRPA has contributed $500,000 to bring the project to fruition.
The funding will be used to procure the zero- and low-emission vehicles and to fund the necessary fuelling, charging and maintenance infrastructure, including electric vehicle chargers and local green hydrogen production.
Other project partners include Velocity Truck Centres, which will support the purchase and maintenance of the hydrogen fuel cell, hydrogen-diesel co-combustion and battery-electric class eight heavy-duty trucks.
The trucks will be operated by Gat Leedm Logistics and powered in part by Delta-based Hydra Energy, who will generate hydrogen fuel for the participating trucks.
NuPort Robotics will install hardware, lead data collection and reporting to support performance metrics, data acquisition, and analytics for the project.
Vehicle testing will provide important information about their performance, technical capability and operational feasibility. The project will run to the end of 2026.
Leave a Reply