Through an Integrated Marketplace project led by Innovate BC, new zero and low-emission heavy-duty (HDZEV) trucks will be added to operations at the Port of Prince Rupert to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and support sustainability in the province’s transportation sector.

The HDZEV project will see four new trucks - two hydrogen powered, one battery electric and one hydrogen-diesel co-combustion - utilized on existing operational routes. These operations will provide data to better understand the range, reliability and potential best use case for the vehicles.

Innovate BC is delivering the project through the Integrated Marketplace, which works to bolster innovation in the province by linking strategic buyers representing some of British Columbia’s largest economic drivers to B.C.-based solution providers to implement, scale up, and ultimately export B.C. technology solutions. Prince Rupert Port Authority (PRPA), which oversees the Port of Prince Rupert, is serving as the testbed partner for the project.

“The Integrated Marketplace acts as a platform for partners like Prince Rupert Port Authority, which are key contributors to British Columbia’s economic growth, to de-risk the adoption of new technologies while supporting the decarbonization and innovation goals of their organizations and the province,” said Peter Cowan, President and CEO of Innovate BC. “We are proud to lead this project and look forward to seeing its outcomes and generated data inform the greater adoption of zero emission vehicles across more industrial sectors here in B.C.”

In addition to the $2.45 million contributed to this project by the Government of British Columbia, the Government of Canada has provided $3 million and PRPA has contributed $500,000 to bring the project to fruition. The funding will be used to procure the zero- and low-emission vehicles and to fund the necessary fuelling, charging and maintenance infrastructure, including electric vehicle chargers and local green hydrogen production.

“This partnership between governments, industry and B.C. businesses will help accelerate the Port of Prince Rupert’s continued progress toward decarbonizing port operations and to enable greater competitiveness and sustainability for Canadian supply chains,” said Shaun Stevenson, President & CEO of the Prince Rupert Port Authority. “The utilization of zero and low-emission vehicles is a key component of the Prince Rupert Port Authority’s strategy for reducing port-related carbon emissions by a further 30 percent by 2030 and reaching carbon neutrality by 2050.”