FuelCell Energy has signed an agreement for the supply of carbon dioxide neutral “tri-gen” products to meet the energy needs of a Toyota Motor North America import facility in California.
The tri-gen system, owned and operated by FuelCell Energy, has contracted to supply electricity, hydrogen, and water from directed biogas for Toyota’s Port of Long Beach operations under a 20-year purchase agreement.
The products will be generated by fuel cells using an efficient, combustion-free process that emits virtually no air pollutants and will enable Toyota Logistic Services Long Beach to be the company’s first port vehicle processing facility in the world powered by onsite-generated, 100 percent renewable energy, Toyota said.
The tri-gen system will produce 2.3 megawatts of renewable electricity, part of which will be used by Toyota Logistic Services Long Beach to support its operations at the port, which processes approximately 200,000 new Toyota and Lexus vehicles annually.
The system can also produce up to 1,200 kilograms per day of hydrogen that will provide for Toyota Logistic Services Long Beach’s fueling needs for its incoming light-duty fuel cell electric vehicle Mirai, while also supplying hydrogen to the nearby heavy-duty hydrogen refueling station to support logistics and drayage operations at the port.
Hydrogen production can be ramped up and down based on needs and requirements.
And, finally, the system can produce 1,400 gallons of water a day that will be used by Toyota Logistic Services Long Beach for car wash operations for vehicles that come into the port, helping reduce the use of constrained local water supplies by approximately half a million gallons per year.
The tri-gen operations at the Port of Long Beach are expected to reduce more than 9,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions from the power grid each year, avoid more than six tons of grid nitrogen oxides emissions, and has the potential to reduce diesel consumption by more than 420,000 gallons per year by using hydrogen-powered fuel cell trucks in port operations, Toyota said.
In addition, the electricity not used by Toyota Logistic Services will be delivered to Southern California Edison under the California Bioenergy Market Adjustment Tariff program, adding a renewable, resilient, and affordable baseload electric generation resource to the electric grid, Toyota said.
