Hyundai’s Series-Ready Hydrogen Truck hits North America
Hyundai has brought its hydrogen fuel cell heavy-duty truck to the North American market as it sees pressure rising on commercial fleets to reduce pollution and CO2 emissions.
Almost in response to this week’s ruling by the State of California, the truck maker has debuted its Xcient fuel cell tractor, the commercialized class 8 6×4 zero-emissions model, at the Advanced Clean Transportation (ACT) Expo ahead of a full marketing campaign. The vehicle has already been deployed in five countries, including Switzerland, Germany, Israel, Korea and New Zealand, and has successfully accumulated more than four million miles of goods transportation so far.
The model shown at the event is the 6×4 tractor equipped with two 90 kW hydrogen fuel cell systems, totalling 180 kW power, and a 350 kW (479bhp) e-motor. Its gross combination weight is a maximum 82,000 lbs and claims a driving range of more than 450 miles between refuels even when fully loaded.
Hyundai now envisions an integrated hydrogen ecosystem business to achieve carbon neutrality. At its press conference, Ken Ramirez, executive vice-president and head of global commercial vehicle and hydrogen fuel cell business, spoke of the company’s strong commitment to hydrogen mobility and shared its ambition to foster the development of a clean hydrogen ecosystem.
He added: “We firmly believe that hydrogen is one of the most powerful and pragmatic solutions for achieving our vision of ‘Progress for Humanity’ with emission-free mobility as a fundamental pillar for a sustainable society. Our hydrogen fuel cell technology has pioneered the industry, with a real-world proven track record of its efficiency and durability. We are leveraging these merits to further transform transportation with hydrogen energy for a broad range of mobility applications, including commercial vehicles, marine vessels and even air mobility. We now look beyond mobility toward an integrated hydrogen ecosystem, from production of hydrogen to its storage, transport and delivery.”
— Paul Myles is a seasoned automotive journalist based in Europe. Follow him on Twitter @Paulmyles_
