In September 2023, Toyota Motor North America, Inc. (TMNA) and FuelCell Energy, Inc. announced the completion of the first-of-its-kind “Tri-gen system” at TMNA’s Port of Long Beach operations. The Tri-gen system, owned and operated by FuelCell Energy, produces renewable electricity, renewable hydrogen and water from directed biogas. FuelCell Energy has contracted with Toyota to supply the products of Tri-gen under a 20-year purchase agreement.

Tri-gen is an example of FuelCell Energy’s ability to scale hydrogen-powered fuel cell technology, an increasingly important energy solution in the global effort to reduce carbon emissions. Tri-gen will enable TLS Long Beach to be the company’s first port vehicle processing facility in the world powered by onsite-generated, 100% renewable energy and represents the types of innovative and bold investments the company is making as part of its environmental sustainability strategy. TMNA and FuelCell Eneregy recently celebrated the grand opening of Tri-gen. Read the full annoucement here. 

Supporting Toyota’s Port Facilities and Operations

FuelCell Energy’s innovative fuel cell technology will support Toyota’s operations at the port through an electrochemical process that converts directed renewable biogas into electricity, hydrogen and usable water with a highly efficient, combustion-free process that emits virtually no air pollutants.

Tri-gen produces 2.3-megawatts of renewable electricity, part of which will be off-taken by TLS Long Beach to support its operations at the port, which processes approximately 200,000 new Toyota and Lexus vehicles annually.

The Tri-gen system can produce up to 1,200 kg/day of hydrogen that will provide for TLS Long Beach’s fueling needs for its incoming light-duty fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) Mirai, while also supplying hydrogen to the nearby heavy-duty hydrogen refueling station to support TLS logistics and drayage operations at the port. Hydrogen production can be ramped up and down based on needs/requirements.

1,400 gallons of water will be co-produced per day from Tri-gen’s hydrogen production process and will be used by TLS Long Beach for car wash operations for vehicles that come into port prior to customer delivery. This will help decrease the use of constrained local water supplies by approximately half a million gallons per year.

Benefitting the Community & the Environment

By supporting TLS operations at the Port of Long Beach, Tri-gen’s carbon neutral products are expected to reduce more than 9,000 tons of CO₂ emission from the power grid each year.

“Renewable hydrogen is an important fuel for the future of the Port of Long Beach and the shipping industry,” said Port of Long Beach CEO Mario Cordero. “The renewable hydrogen generated by the ‘Tri-gen’ system that Toyota commissioned, and similar projects, is part of our multi-strategy approach to help fuel the transition of equipment like locomotives, harbor craft, cargo-handling equipment and trucks to zero emissions.”

Tri-gen will also help to avoid more than 6 tons of grid NOx emissions, which are harmful to both people and the environment, and has the potential to reduce diesel consumption by more than 420,000 gallons per year by using hydrogen-powered fuel cell trucks in port operations.

Additionally, excess electricity not used by TLS will be delivered to the local utility, Southern California Edison, under the California Bioenergy Market Adjustment Tariff (BioMAT) program, adding a renewable, resilient and affordable baseload electric generation resource to the electric grid. The Tri-gen powerplant should produce roughly 1,700 kW of excess electricity, enough to power almost 2,500 homes within West Long Beach and Wilmington annually.

Awaiting LEED® Certification

TLS Long Beach has applied for LEED® certification under the USGBC’s LEED for New Construction rating system. LEED is an internationally recognized green building certification system, providing third-party verification that a building was designed and built using strategies aimed at improving performance across all the metrics that matter most: sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy savings, stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts, and improved indoor environmental quality. Developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), LEED provides building owners and operators a concise framework for identifying and implementing practical and measurable green building design, construction, operations and maintenance solutions. LEED is able to be applied to all building types, commercial as well as residential. It works throughout the building lifecycle: design and construction, operations and maintenance, tenant fit-outs and significant retrofits.