Hyundai Xcient Fuel Cell Truck.
The shipment involves only seven vehicles, but they represent a big shift in what kinds of commercial trucks Hyundai says it needs to introduce and sell in the coming decades. That’s why the new Hyundai Xcient is a fuel-cell-powered heavy-duty truck that produces zero emissions, refuels in a few minutes and offers ranges of hundreds of kilometers. Hyundai delivered the first batch of these vehicles to companies in Switzerland today.
The Xcient has a propulsion system made from two 95-kW fuel cell stacks from the Hyundai Nexo passenger car. For trucking use, Hyundai is working on making these stacks more reliable because commercial vehicles are subject to heavier use than passenger vehicles. Unlike in the small CUV, the Xcient adds a 72-kWh battery, regenerative brakes and a 350-kW electric motor. The range is dependent on the type and number of tanks on board, but the first trucks use seven 350-bar hydrogen tanks that store around 32 kilograms of hydrogen for a range of around 400 kilometers. In Europe, the hydrogen-powered Xcient will be available in 4×2 and 6×2 cargo truck versions, as well as a 4×2 tractor.
“In Switzerland we took the first step,” said Hyundai’s Mark Freymüeller. “We will be fully dedicated in ensuring a safe, stable and successful operation to our customers.”
As part of delivering the hydrogen trucks, Hyundai is working with stakeholders on a “robust green hydrogen ecosystem,” the company said in a statement. That means infrastructure, and that’s why Hyundai Motor Company formed Hyundai Hydrogen Mobility (HHM), a joint venture with the Swiss company H2 Energy, last year. HHM is also partnering with Hydrospider, a joint venture of H2 Energy, Alpiq and Linde
SHANGHAI, CHINA – NOVEMBER 07: People watch a Hyundai HDC-6 NEPTUNE cargo during the 2nd China … [+]
Hyundai says it plans to have 1,600 of its new Xcient trucks in customer operations by the end of 2025. Hyundai is upping its production capacity to prepare for this demand, and plans to have the capacity to build 2,000 vehicles a year by 2021. That will mesh with the company’s plans to sell the Xcient in North America and China as well as Europe in the coming years. There’s also the HDC-6 NEPTUNE Concept Class 8 heavy-duty truck, which Hyundai showed off at the North American Commercial Vehicle Show in 2019. Whatever they look like, Hyundai said it expects more than 12,000 fuel cell trucks to be on U.S. roads by 2030.
Toyota 8 Fuel Cell Electric Truck.
That’s got to be music to the ears of Toyota executives. Earlier this week, Toyota Motor North America and Hino Trucks announced that they would jointly develop Class 8 fuel cell trucks for the North American market. The first test vehicles, based on work Toyota and Hino did on creating an H-powered version of Hino XL Series trucks in Japan, are supposed to arrive in North America in the first half of 2021.
