Hyundai Xcient FCEV truck makes US debut

HYUNDAI has premiered its new Xcient Fuel Cell prime mover, the commercialised class 8 fuel cell electric model, for the North American commercial vehicle market at this week’s Advanced Clean Transportation (ACT) expo in California.

The South Korean firm says the commercial release of the vehicle is another step towards the realisation of an integrated hydrogen ecosystem business that will assist in achieving carbon neutrality within the road freight sector, while also demonstrating its strong commitment to hydrogen mobility.

“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,” said Hyundai executive vice president and head of global commercial vehicle and hydrogen fuel cell business, Ken Ramirez.

“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. Hyundai is uniquely positioned to cover all aspects and deliver a seamless solution across the value chain.”

First launched in 2020, the Xcient truck has been deployed in five countries, including Switzerland, Germany, Israel, South Korea and New Zealand, and according to Hyundai has successfully accumulated over four-million miles (6.5 million kilometres) so far. The firm says the vehicle is the only one of its kind with a proven record of real-world application and technological reliability.

The model shown at the ACT event is a 6x4 prime mover with two 90kW hydrogen fuel cell systems (total system power of 180kW) and a 350kW e-motor. Its gross combination weight is a maximum of 30,194kg and offers a driving range of 724km per charge fully loaded.

Speaking in California this week, Hyundai reiterated its stance that hydrogen is ‘the’ clean energy solution for commercial vehicles, including energy-intensive long-distance and heavy-duty trucking, saying the hydrogen format offers considerable network and infrastructure efficiencies when compared with battery electric vehicles – including the minimisation of downtime via quicker refuelling.

Hyundai said that with the US government’s “significant support”, and with more contenders entering the hydrogen market, it is confident the total cost of ownership for FCEVs will “drop considerably” and that “climate change and supply chain issues will accelerate the transition to clean energy sources”.

The South Korean manufacturer also spoke about its plans to foster the development of a clean hydrogen ecosystem through a waste-to-energy process in which biogas extracted from organic waste is repurposed as clean hydrogen. It says it is currently demonstrating the effectiveness of the solution with a local Korean government agency and is “reviewing the expansion of the demonstration in cities outside Korea as well”.

Speaking at the ACT event, Hyundai senior vice president and head of commercial vehicle business innovation, Mark Freymueller, said the company’s plans for the Xceint Fuel Cell truck underline its commitment to the formation of a solid hydrogen value chain in the United States and other markets.

“For years, we have been initiating hydrogen value chains in various regions. Together with our partners, we are making hydrogen mobility a viable solution for our customers,” he said.

“We go beyond the truck itself to include areas such as hydrogen refuelling and truck maintenance. Here in the US, we plan to do the same, since each case needs its tailor-made service approach, especially during the transition phase from traditional to hydrogen. We plan to provide the best hydrogen value chain scenario for each and every customer.”