Photos: Taking Kenworth’s ZECT out for a drive

Note the wisps of steam flowing over the top of the T680 ZECT; that's the only exhaust emission from the vehicle. Water vapor is the only byproduct of the electricity-making process within the fuel cell. 

The backside of the Kenworth T680 ZECT. 

Brian Lindgren, Kenworth’s research and development manager, notes that the ZECT's hydrogen-fired fuel cell, built by Ballard Power Systems, sits under the hood in the nominal location for a diesel engine.

The ZECT took two years to develop. "We are still real early in the development process," noted Lindgren. "We first got the T680 ZECT fully running in December but there is still a lot of tweaking yet to do; we are still working through shifting algorithms."

Here Lindgren highlights the back-of-cab compartment where six hydrogen tanks are stored on the ZECT. Each tanks stores compressed hydrogen gas at 5,000 psi.

Kenworth provided test dives of the ZECT pulling a fully-loaded dry van trailer and flatbed hauling concrete blocks (seen here). The GCVW of the ZECT and dry van trailer topped 78,980 lbs.

The big red button on the dash is a "kill switch" that will completely shut the truck down in case of an emergency.

The ZECT is connected to a 4-speed automated transmission and handles like any other big rig, except that it is far quieter. Right now Kenworth is working to "tune" the ZECT's cooling fan speed when the vehicle is at idle in order to lower noise that much further. "This particular truck likes stop-and-go," said Lindgren. "That is an application where electric trucks shine. Idling is hard on diesel engines."

"Maintenance will ultimately be an advantage [as] there is no engine oil, no oil filters, no valves to adjust, no DPF, and no SCR," said Lindgren, seen here prepping the ZECT for a raod test. "There are no moving parts like[diesel engine]  pistons and crankshafts. Pistons need to accelerate/decelerate/then accelerate; there’s a lot of movement, which creates a lot of wear and tear on the components."

In the cool air mountain around the PACCAR Technical Center in Mt. Vernon, WA, the water vapor emitted by the ZECT's fuel cell tended to steam up the truck's side windows while at idle. That cleared up once the vehicle started rolling. 

Range is the big limiting factor right now, as the ZECT only gets about 150 miles fully-loaded. Yet that's why Lindgren said it is perfect for the drayage operations where it is headed for real-world testing. "The drive cycles we’re doing here are actually tougher on this fuel cell/electric hybrid system than the actual drayage work it is designed for," Lindgren said. "In drayage the truck will sit for an hour, waiting in line; this is why it’s a much better option than diesel. There are no emissions at all. The wait lines will be far cleaner than in the past."

A comparable diesel-powered T680 daycab tractor weighs in at 16,000 lbs.; the ZECT weighs 22,000 lbs. due to the batteries, heating/cooling system for battery protection, hydrogen storage tanks, etc. “We have added about 6,000 lbs. to this truck compared to a diesel model, but that will be coming down,” said Lindgren. “It could drop by as much as half in the next five years.”