Port of Oakland receives $2.5 million hydrogen grant

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has given a $2.5 million grant to the Port of Oakland for the development and demonstration of fuel cell technological breakthroughs.

The award is under the Biden/Harris Administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The project will reportedly cost more than $7 million and is part of the port’s commitment to transition all elements of marine operations to zero emissions.

The Port of Oakland’s project aims to advance the commercialisation of zero-emissions container handling equipment (CHE) by creating and demonstrating two zero-emissions fuel cell electric top loaders (FCETLs) at high technical readiness.

Additionally, the project intends to fill a significant technical gap by employing Hyundai’s Class 8 fuel cell electric truck to construct the first zero-emission hydrogen wet-hose mobile refuelled, while providing fuel to hydrogen vehicles at ports and other businesses while maintaining maximum operational uptime.

Port stakeholders, including the Alameda County Transportation Commission (Alameda CTC), TraPac, and the Hyster-Yale Group, will contribute to local project funds through existing cost-sharing arrangements.

Alameda CTC will provide up to $2 million to fund this project.

Port of Oakland Executive Director, Danny Wan, said: “We are working non-stop towards achieving the goal of becoming a zero-emissions port. We thank the U.S. Department of Energy for selecting Oakland to be part of this hydrogen project.”

In August, the loaded container volume at the Port of Oakland steadily increased month after month (MoM).