Hydrogen Fuel Cell Application for Port Drayage Truck: Integrated Transportation and Energy Modeling

This report investigates the viability of hydrogen Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEVs) for port drayage applications, focusing on both energy modeling and economic feasibility. Port drayage—trucking operations that move goods a short distance to and from ports—is a key part of freight logistics and the critical movement of goods in American communities. This project developed a microscopic energy consumption model using second-by-second activity data from 38 Class 8 diesel drayage trucks operating in Southern California. The model emulated FCEV operations and determined an average hydrogen fuel consumption of 0.15 kg/mile across 749 trips. This data informed a levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH) analysis under various production methods, station capacities, and fleet adoption rates. In other words, the analysis helps show conditions under which hydrogen FCEVs could become a cost-competitive and sustainable option for port drayage fleets. The project used two economic modeling approaches: a general parametric study and a comprehensive analysis using established spreadsheet tools (H2A-Lite and HDSAM-4.5). Results from the parametric study showed a concave relationship between hydrogen station capacity utilization and LCOH. Higher fleet conversion rates (e.g., 25%) significantly reduced LCOH (as low as $1.4/kg for blue hydrogen) but strained infrastructure, highlighting the need for strategic station deployment. Conversely, underutilized stations led to elevated hydrogen costs, especially with green hydrogen. This means that as station utilization increases, LCOH initially drops quickly—because more trucks using the station spreads out fixed costs, making each kilogram of hydrogen cheaper, but after a certain point, the rate of cost savings slows down—and, eventually, adding more demand may even introduce new costs (such as the need for upgrades). The comprehensive analysis reinforced these findings and showed that while grey hydrogen remains the cheapest to produce, green hydrogen—particularly from hybrid solar-wind PEM electrolysis—becomes competitive at scale. Delivery methods also impacted cost: liquid hydrogen delivery proved more cost-efficient at low utilization, while gaseous delivery was better suited for high-demand scenarios. The study concludes that achieving cost-effective hydrogen adoption for port drayage trucks hinges on optimizing station utilization, scaling infrastructure, and supporting green hydrogen technologies through policy and investment. Given the critical role of port drayage in transportation networks, this study helps lay the path forward toward decarbonizing a high-impact sector through hydrogen technology.