diff --git a/DataFormats/Portable/interface/PortableCollection.h b/DataFormats/Portable/interface/PortableCollection.h
index 86d117c02c81d..abc64b99cb0d3 100644
--- a/DataFormats/Portable/interface/PortableCollection.h
+++ b/DataFormats/Portable/interface/PortableCollection.h
@@ -1,13 +1,26 @@
 #ifndef DataFormats_Portable_interface_PortableCollection_h
 #define DataFormats_Portable_interface_PortableCollection_h
 
-#include "HeterogeneousCore/AlpakaInterface/interface/traits.h"
+#include <alpaka/alpaka.hpp>
+
+#include "DataFormats/Portable/interface/PortableHostCollection.h"
+#include "DataFormats/Portable/interface/PortableDeviceCollection.h"
+#include "HeterogeneousCore/AlpakaInterface/interface/CopyToDevice.h"
+#include "HeterogeneousCore/AlpakaInterface/interface/CopyToHost.h"
 
 namespace traits {
 
   // trait for a generic SoA-based product
   template <typename T, typename TDev, typename = std::enable_if_t<alpaka::isDevice<TDev>>>
-  class PortableCollectionTrait;
+  struct PortableCollectionTrait {
+    using CollectionType = PortableDeviceCollection<T, TDev>;
+  };
+
+  // specialise for host device
+  template <typename T>
+  struct PortableCollectionTrait<T, alpaka_common::DevHost> {
+    using CollectionType = PortableHostCollection<T>;
+  };
 
 }  // namespace traits
 
@@ -15,4 +28,28 @@ namespace traits {
 template <typename T, typename TDev, typename = std::enable_if_t<alpaka::isDevice<TDev>>>
 using PortableCollection = typename traits::PortableCollectionTrait<T, TDev>::CollectionType;
 
+// define how to copy PortableCollection between host and device
+namespace cms::alpakatools {
+  template <typename TLayout, typename TDevice>
+  struct CopyToHost<PortableDeviceCollection<TLayout, TDevice>> {
+    template <typename TQueue>
+    static auto copyAsync(TQueue& queue, PortableDeviceCollection<TLayout, TDevice> const& srcData) {
+      PortableHostCollection<TLayout> dstData(srcData->metadata().size(), queue);
+      alpaka::memcpy(queue, dstData.buffer(), srcData.buffer());
+      return dstData;
+    }
+  };
+
+  template <typename TLayout>
+  struct CopyToDevice<PortableHostCollection<TLayout>> {
+    template <typename TQueue>
+    static auto copyAsync(TQueue& queue, PortableHostCollection<TLayout> const& srcData) {
+      using TDevice = typename alpaka::trait::DevType<TQueue>::type;
+      PortableDeviceCollection<TLayout, TDevice> dstData(srcData->metadata().size(), queue);
+      alpaka::memcpy(queue, dstData.buffer(), srcData.buffer());
+      return dstData;
+    }
+  };
+}  // namespace cms::alpakatools
+
 #endif  // DataFormats_Portable_interface_PortableCollection_h
diff --git a/DataFormats/Portable/interface/PortableObject.h b/DataFormats/Portable/interface/PortableObject.h
index 90a33b49d0f0a..c9aadb160bb05 100644
--- a/DataFormats/Portable/interface/PortableObject.h
+++ b/DataFormats/Portable/interface/PortableObject.h
@@ -3,18 +3,55 @@
 
 #include <type_traits>
 
-#include "HeterogeneousCore/AlpakaInterface/interface/traits.h"
+#include <alpaka/alpaka.hpp>
+
+#include "DataFormats/Portable/interface/PortableHostObject.h"
+#include "DataFormats/Portable/interface/PortableDeviceObject.h"
+#include "HeterogeneousCore/AlpakaInterface/interface/CopyToDevice.h"
+#include "HeterogeneousCore/AlpakaInterface/interface/CopyToHost.h"
 
 namespace traits {
 
-  // trait for a generic SoA-based product
+  // trait for a generic struct-based product
   template <typename T, typename TDev, typename = std::enable_if_t<alpaka::isDevice<TDev>>>
-  class PortableObjectTrait;
+  struct PortableObjectTrait {
+    using ProductType = PortableDeviceObject<T, TDev>;
+  };
+
+  // specialise for host device
+  template <typename T>
+  struct PortableObjectTrait<T, alpaka_common::DevHost> {
+    using ProductType = PortableHostObject<T>;
+  };
 
 }  // namespace traits
 
-// type alias for a generic SoA-based product
+// type alias for a generic struct-based product
 template <typename T, typename TDev, typename = std::enable_if_t<alpaka::isDevice<TDev>>>
 using PortableObject = typename traits::PortableObjectTrait<T, TDev>::ProductType;
 
+// define how to copy PortableObject between host and device
+namespace cms::alpakatools {
+  template <typename TProduct, typename TDevice>
+  struct CopyToHost<PortableDeviceObject<TProduct, TDevice>> {
+    template <typename TQueue>
+    static auto copyAsync(TQueue& queue, PortableDeviceObject<TProduct, TDevice> const& srcData) {
+      PortableHostObject<TProduct> dstData(queue);
+      alpaka::memcpy(queue, dstData.buffer(), srcData.buffer());
+      return dstData;
+    }
+  };
+
+  template <typename TProduct>
+  struct CopyToDevice<PortableHostObject<TProduct>> {
+    template <typename TQueue>
+    static auto copyAsync(TQueue& queue, PortableHostObject<TProduct> const& srcData) {
+      using TDevice = typename alpaka::trait::DevType<TQueue>::type;
+      PortableDeviceObject<TProduct, TDevice> dstData(queue);
+      alpaka::memcpy(queue, dstData.buffer(), srcData.buffer());
+      return dstData;
+    }
+  };
+}  // namespace cms::alpakatools
+
 #endif  // DataFormats_Portable_interface_PortableObject_h
diff --git a/DataFormats/Portable/interface/alpaka/PortableCollection.h b/DataFormats/Portable/interface/alpaka/PortableCollection.h
index 0a6abad96dfaf..1f9fa22e49cd8 100644
--- a/DataFormats/Portable/interface/alpaka/PortableCollection.h
+++ b/DataFormats/Portable/interface/alpaka/PortableCollection.h
@@ -4,11 +4,7 @@
 #include <alpaka/alpaka.hpp>
 
 #include "DataFormats/Portable/interface/PortableCollection.h"
-#include "DataFormats/Portable/interface/PortableHostCollection.h"
-#include "DataFormats/Portable/interface/PortableDeviceCollection.h"
 #include "HeterogeneousCore/AlpakaInterface/interface/config.h"
-#include "HeterogeneousCore/AlpakaInterface/interface/CopyToDevice.h"
-#include "HeterogeneousCore/AlpakaInterface/interface/CopyToHost.h"
 
 // This header is not used by PortableCollection, but is included here to automatically
 // provide its content to users of ALPAKA_ACCELERATOR_NAMESPACE::PortableCollection.
@@ -16,54 +12,10 @@
 
 namespace ALPAKA_ACCELERATOR_NAMESPACE {
 
-#if defined ALPAKA_ACC_CPU_B_SEQ_T_SEQ_ENABLED
-  // ... or any other CPU-based accelerators
-
-  // generic SoA-based product in host memory
-  template <typename T>
-  using PortableCollection = ::PortableHostCollection<T>;
-
-#else
-
-  // generic SoA-based product in device memory
+  // generic SoA-based product in the device (that may be host) memory
   template <typename T>
-  using PortableCollection = ::PortableDeviceCollection<T, Device>;
-
-#endif  // ALPAKA_ACC_CPU_B_SEQ_T_SEQ_ENABLED
+  using PortableCollection = ::PortableCollection<T, Device>;
 
 }  // namespace ALPAKA_ACCELERATOR_NAMESPACE
 
-namespace traits {
-
-  // specialise the trait for the device provided by the ALPAKA_ACCELERATOR_NAMESPACE
-  template <typename T>
-  class PortableCollectionTrait<T, ALPAKA_ACCELERATOR_NAMESPACE::Device> {
-    using CollectionType = ALPAKA_ACCELERATOR_NAMESPACE::PortableCollection<T>;
-  };
-
-}  // namespace traits
-
-namespace cms::alpakatools {
-  template <typename TLayout, typename TDevice>
-  struct CopyToHost<PortableDeviceCollection<TLayout, TDevice>> {
-    template <typename TQueue>
-    static auto copyAsync(TQueue& queue, PortableDeviceCollection<TLayout, TDevice> const& srcData) {
-      PortableHostCollection<TLayout> dstData(srcData->metadata().size(), queue);
-      alpaka::memcpy(queue, dstData.buffer(), srcData.buffer());
-      return dstData;
-    }
-  };
-
-  template <typename TLayout>
-  struct CopyToDevice<PortableHostCollection<TLayout>> {
-    template <typename TQueue>
-    static auto copyAsync(TQueue& queue, PortableHostCollection<TLayout> const& srcData) {
-      using TDevice = typename alpaka::trait::DevType<TQueue>::type;
-      PortableDeviceCollection<TLayout, TDevice> dstData(srcData->metadata().size(), queue);
-      alpaka::memcpy(queue, dstData.buffer(), srcData.buffer());
-      return dstData;
-    }
-  };
-}  // namespace cms::alpakatools
-
 #endif  // DataFormats_Portable_interface_alpaka_PortableCollection_h
diff --git a/DataFormats/Portable/interface/alpaka/PortableObject.h b/DataFormats/Portable/interface/alpaka/PortableObject.h
index 9b7ba65f8a460..417173176b203 100644
--- a/DataFormats/Portable/interface/alpaka/PortableObject.h
+++ b/DataFormats/Portable/interface/alpaka/PortableObject.h
@@ -4,11 +4,7 @@
 #include <alpaka/alpaka.hpp>
 
 #include "DataFormats/Portable/interface/PortableObject.h"
-#include "DataFormats/Portable/interface/PortableHostObject.h"
-#include "DataFormats/Portable/interface/PortableDeviceObject.h"
 #include "HeterogeneousCore/AlpakaInterface/interface/config.h"
-#include "HeterogeneousCore/AlpakaInterface/interface/CopyToDevice.h"
-#include "HeterogeneousCore/AlpakaInterface/interface/CopyToHost.h"
 
 // This header is not used by PortableObject, but is included here to automatically
 // provide its content to users of ALPAKA_ACCELERATOR_NAMESPACE::PortableObject.
@@ -16,54 +12,10 @@
 
 namespace ALPAKA_ACCELERATOR_NAMESPACE {
 
-#if defined ALPAKA_ACC_CPU_B_SEQ_T_SEQ_ENABLED
-  // ... or any other CPU-based accelerators
-
-  // generic SoA-based product in host memory
-  template <typename T>
-  using PortableObject = ::PortableHostObject<T>;
-
-#else
-
-  // generic SoA-based product in device memory
+  // generic struct-based product in the device (that may be host) memory
   template <typename T>
-  using PortableObject = ::PortableDeviceObject<T, Device>;
-
-#endif  // ALPAKA_ACC_CPU_B_SEQ_T_SEQ_ENABLED
+  using PortableObject = ::PortableObject<T, Device>;
 
 }  // namespace ALPAKA_ACCELERATOR_NAMESPACE
 
-namespace traits {
-
-  // specialise the trait for the device provided by the ALPAKA_ACCELERATOR_NAMESPACE
-  template <typename T>
-  class PortableObjectTrait<T, ALPAKA_ACCELERATOR_NAMESPACE::Device> {
-    using ProductType = ALPAKA_ACCELERATOR_NAMESPACE::PortableObject<T>;
-  };
-
-}  // namespace traits
-
-namespace cms::alpakatools {
-  template <typename TProduct, typename TDevice>
-  struct CopyToHost<PortableDeviceObject<TProduct, TDevice>> {
-    template <typename TQueue>
-    static auto copyAsync(TQueue& queue, PortableDeviceObject<TProduct, TDevice> const& srcData) {
-      PortableHostObject<TProduct> dstData(queue);
-      alpaka::memcpy(queue, dstData.buffer(), srcData.buffer());
-      return dstData;
-    }
-  };
-
-  template <typename TProduct>
-  struct CopyToDevice<PortableHostObject<TProduct>> {
-    template <typename TQueue>
-    static auto copyAsync(TQueue& queue, PortableHostObject<TProduct> const& srcData) {
-      using TDevice = typename alpaka::trait::DevType<TQueue>::type;
-      PortableDeviceObject<TProduct, TDevice> dstData(queue);
-      alpaka::memcpy(queue, dstData.buffer(), srcData.buffer());
-      return dstData;
-    }
-  };
-}  // namespace cms::alpakatools
-
 #endif  // DataFormats_Portable_interface_alpaka_PortableObject_h
diff --git a/DataFormats/Portable/test/BuildFile.xml b/DataFormats/Portable/test/BuildFile.xml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..ef2f6603f62cc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/DataFormats/Portable/test/BuildFile.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+<bin name="TestDataFormatsPortableOnHost" file="test_catch2_main.cc,portableCollectionOnHost.cc,portableObjectOnHost.cc">
+  <use name="DataFormats/Portable"/>
+  <use name="DataFormats/SoATemplate"/>
+  <use name="catch2"/>
+</bin>
diff --git a/DataFormats/Portable/test/portableCollectionOnHost.cc b/DataFormats/Portable/test/portableCollectionOnHost.cc
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..aa3d56f9d0539
--- /dev/null
+++ b/DataFormats/Portable/test/portableCollectionOnHost.cc
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+#include <catch.hpp>
+
+#include "DataFormats/Portable/interface/PortableCollection.h"
+#include "DataFormats/Portable/interface/PortableHostCollection.h"
+#include "DataFormats/SoATemplate/interface/SoACommon.h"
+#include "DataFormats/SoATemplate/interface/SoALayout.h"
+#include "DataFormats/SoATemplate/interface/SoAView.h"
+
+namespace {
+  GENERATE_SOA_LAYOUT(TestLayout, SOA_COLUMN(double, x), SOA_COLUMN(int32_t, id))
+
+  using TestSoA = TestLayout<>;
+
+  constexpr auto s_tag = "[PortableCollection]";
+}  // namespace
+
+// This test is currently mostly about the code compiling
+TEST_CASE("Use of PortableCollection<T, TDev> on host code", s_tag) {
+  auto const size = 10;
+  PortableCollection<TestSoA, alpaka::DevCpu> coll(size, cms::alpakatools::host());
+
+  SECTION("Tests") { REQUIRE(coll->metadata().size() == size); }
+
+  static_assert(std::is_same_v<PortableCollection<TestSoA, alpaka::DevCpu>, PortableHostCollection<TestSoA>>);
+}
diff --git a/DataFormats/Portable/test/portableObjectOnHost.cc b/DataFormats/Portable/test/portableObjectOnHost.cc
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..698605b57f465
--- /dev/null
+++ b/DataFormats/Portable/test/portableObjectOnHost.cc
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+#include <catch.hpp>
+
+#include "DataFormats/Portable/interface/PortableObject.h"
+#include "DataFormats/Portable/interface/PortableHostObject.h"
+
+namespace {
+  struct Test {
+    int a;
+    float b;
+  };
+
+  constexpr auto s_tag = "[PortableObject]";
+}  // namespace
+
+// This test is currently mostly about the code compiling
+TEST_CASE("Use of PortableObject<T> on host code", s_tag) {
+  PortableObject<Test, alpaka::DevCpu> obj(cms::alpakatools::host());
+  obj->a = 42;
+
+  SECTION("Tests") { REQUIRE(obj->a == 42); }
+
+  static_assert(std::is_same_v<PortableObject<Test, alpaka::DevCpu>, PortableHostObject<Test>>);
+}
diff --git a/DataFormats/Portable/test/test_catch2_main.cc b/DataFormats/Portable/test/test_catch2_main.cc
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..b3143fbb1788b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/DataFormats/Portable/test/test_catch2_main.cc
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+#define CATCH_CONFIG_MAIN
+#include <catch.hpp>