Yesterday I talked about the Vision Tyrano Truck that was making an appearance before Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger at the Capitol Building in Sacramento, California. The governor talked about the Tyrano at length before the question and answer session turned into a regular press briefing.
The Tyrano hydrogen fuel cell plug-in hybrid electric short haul truck produces 535 horsepower and has a range of 200 miles, which is more than adequate for driving conditions around the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach. It is also 35-percent more efficient than the diesel trucks because it uses electric motors that are not taxed in the stop and go driving inherent around the Southern California ports.
According to Vision Industries CEO Martin Schuermann, who was also at the press conference, the cost for one custom built Tyrano truck right now is $250,000. The cost for a comparable diesel short haul truck is around $110,000 and the cost for a liquid natural gas (LNG) truck is between $170,000 and $200,000. Mr. Schuermann goes onto say that with an order of just 1,000 to 2,000 Tyrano trucks, the price tag comes down to somewhere between that of a diesel truck and a LNG truck, because of economies of scale.
During his speech, Governor Schwarzenegger makes three key points. First, the Tyrano truck is a zero emissions vehicle that has no greenhouse gas emissions. Second, since the trucks are produced in California they are creating new, high paying green jobs. People typically think that going green costs more money but the Tyrano truck will save money over the long haul and create new green jobs for people.
And, third the governor states that around the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, because of transportation pollution there are premature deaths and many other associated health problems. The Tyrano Truck is a step in the right direction towards cleaning up the air quality at these ports so that the workers can breath easier and live long and productive lives.
The Hydrogen Cluster Model has already started in the Los Angeles area putting a concentration of hydrogen cars around where most of the H2 fueling stations reside and are being built. Putting hydrogen trucks in the Los Angeles area ports only furthers this Hydrogen Cluster Model as serves as an example for other large cities in the nation and around the world.