Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/887355
maltatoday SUNDAY 15 OCTOBER 2017 Motoring III Toyota to expand hydrogen truck trial Shine and protect ROAD GRIMe and stuck-on brake dust on alloy wheels – that hurts every car owner. and apart from that, it will also damage the wheels: sooner or later these residues will eat their way through the lacquer. They leave behind ugly discol- ourations, which are exceedingly difficult to remove. To ensure that the tyres are always fresh and gleaming, regular cleaning and individual care is required. To start, first spray on Sonax Xtreme wheel cleaner, which gets into the corners and dissolves even the most stubborn dirt. In the process the Auto Bild test winner is exceptionally gentle on materials. On contact with the dirt the cleaner changes colour to red, an indication of its full efficacy. It is acid free and has a lemon fragrance. Adhesive soiling especially can be thoroughly and gently removed with the enclosed special sponge. Rinse off the wheels afterwards with a strong water jet and allow to dry or wipe dry. Then apply the Sonax Xtreme tyre gloss gel and allow to work in. A truck powered by Toyota- developed hydrogen fuel cells has completed the first part of a wide-ranging trial in the U.S., now it will actually get to work. Known as 'Project Portal' we first reported on the develop- ment of the truck back in April, the latest update from Toyota tells us they now have the vehi- cle ready to take on real world duties in California. The truck has already com- pleted more than 4,000 devel- opment miles and will now be utilized around the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, mov- ing goods between terminals and to surrounding rail yards and warehouses. In total, the truck will be cov- ering around 300 kilometres per day and Toyota say this will test the drayage duty-cycle capabili- ties of the fuel cell system while capturing real world perfor- mance data. As the study progresses, longer haul routes are expected to be introduced. Powered by the same tech- nology that propels the Mirai hydrogen car, the truck version has two fuel cell stacks, rather than the single stack found in the car. Total output in the heavy- duty application is 500kW and 1800Nm and Toyota tell us the truck has an estimated driving range of more than 320 kilo- metres per fill, under normal drayage operation. Emitting nothing but water va- por, Toyota North America Vice President Bob Carter says we could be looking at the future of trucking. "Toyota has led the way in ex- panding the understanding and adoption of fuel cell technol- ogy," "From the introduction of the Mirai passenger vehicle to the creation of the heavy-duty fuel cell system in Project Portal, Toyota continues to demon- strate the versatility and scal- ability of the zero-emission fuel cell powertrain."