Hyundai has begun shipping fuel-cell based heavy duty trucks to face off against battery-electric trucks in the commercial hauling market.
Battery electric vehicles, more commonly known as electric cars, have finally begun to take on the world in real numbers. However, they’re not the only game in town when it comes to green transportation. Fuel cells that use tanks of hydrogen to generate electricity with H2O as the main byproduct have long promised to take the pollution out of getting around, without the frustrating charge times. Thus far though, they’ve failed to make a major impact. Hyundai still think there’s value in the idea, however, and have developed their XCIENT Fuel Cell truck to further the cause.
400 km on 32 kg of Hydrogen
Not just a one-off prototype, Hyundai is already shipping the vehicles in bulk lots to lease customers.
Hyundai has invested significant resources into the project, with the first 10 fuel cell trucks already shipped to Switzerland for use by commercial haulage firms, with plans for another 40 trucks to join in the field tests by the end of this year. The aim is to have 1600 trucks in service by 2025, meaning that there’s scope for production on the order of hundreds of units a year. This remains a drop in the ocean compared to global sales of millions per year for trucks in this class, but nevertheless shows a strong commitment to developing the technology.
With a range of 400 km on 32.1 kg of hydrogen, the trucks should have more than enough range between stops to do some serious work. While they’re unlikely to compete with diesel big ..
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