Hyundai’s Hydrogen leadership reinforced with XCIENT Fuel Cell fleet racking up 5 million km
The company says it’s on a mission to create an emission-free, green hydrogen fuel cell heavy-duty truck ecosystem where vehicle supply, hydrogen fueling, and green hydrogen production are organically connected.
Hyundai Motor Company’s fleet of 47 XCIENT Fuel Cell heavy-duty trucks in Switzerland operated by 23 Swiss companies in logistics, distribution and supermarket fulfillment had accumulated more than 5 million km in two years, in a world first.
Hyundai says the companies started operating the zero-emission commercial trucks in 2020.
“XCIENT Fuel Cell is the world’s first heavy-duty fuel cell truck to achieve 5 million km of cumulative driving in real-life customer operation,” said Mark Freymueller, Senior Vice President and Head of Commercial Vehicle Business Innovation at Hyundai Motor Company. “The experience we’ve gained and the milestone we’ve achieved in Switzerland will provide good insights to many countries that are preparing to transition to a sustainable hydrogen society. Based on this proven track record of successful operation in Switzerland, we will expand this business throughout Europe.”
In 2019, Hyundai Motor established Hyundai Hydrogen Mobility (HHM) in partnership with Swiss company H2 Energy which partnered with H2 Mobility Switzerland Association, a hydrogen fueling network builder and XCIENT customer, and green hydrogen production company Hydrospider.
Hyundai Motor is playing a crucial role in creating an emission-free, green hydrogen fuel cell heavy-duty truck ecosystem where vehicle supply, hydrogen fueling, and green hydrogen production are organically connected.
The XCIENT Fuel Cell is equipped with a 180-kW hydrogen fuel cell system with two 90-kW fuel cell stacks. The system’s durability and the vehicle’s overall fuel efficiency are tailored to the demands of commercial fleet customers.
The 350-kW e-motor with maximum torque of 2,237 Nm enables dynamic driving performance. Its seven large hydrogen tanks offer a combined storage capacity of around 31 kg of fuel, while a 72-kWh-powered set of three batteries supports the performance. The driving range is over 400 km per charge in real world conditions. Refueling a full tank of hydrogen takes about 8 to 20 minutes, depending on the ambient temperature.
XCIENT Fuel Cell trucks are operated in various fields, including logistics, manufacturing and retail fulfillment, in various key markets, demonstrating Hyundai Motor’s leadership in fuel cell technology.
In August 2022, Hyundai Motor announced its successful entry into Germany with seven local companies planning to deploy XCIENT Fuel Cell trucks into fleet service with the German government’s funding for an eco-friendly commercial vehicle initiative.
More recently, Hyundai Motor secured the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s 2021 Targeted Airshed Grants (TAG) funding to deploy further XCIENT Fuel Cell trucks in California in addition to 30 trucks which will be rolled out in the NorCal Zero project starting their operation in the Port of Oakland mid next year.
Hyundai Motor says it will leverage insights from these public-private partnerships to further drive commercial vehicle decarbonization through hydrogen fuel cell electric technology advancement. Images & Stories from www.trucknbus.hyundai.com
BOX OUT
Hyundai helps FIFA World Cup 2022 achieve its carbon neutral goals 236 eco-friendly vehicles
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA—Hyundai Motor Company, an official sponsor of FIFA World Cup 2022 TM, is helping the world’s biggest football tournament achieve its carbon neutral goal by providing eco-friendly vehicles for 50 percent of the event’s passenger transportation.
This marks the first time in the history of the competition to have eco-friendly vehicles in the event fleet at this scale.
Hyundai Motors is providing 616 fleet vehicles to FIFA World Cup 2022TM. Of that fleet, there will be 446 passenger vehicles, with just over half (226 units) being hybrid electric (HEV) and battery electric (BEV) models. The company also provides 10 Elec City electric buses for use during the event, which takes place in Qatar from November 20 to December 18.
“Hyundai Motor and FIFA share a strong commitment to make this year’s event a sustainable success through the use of clean mobility,” said Jaehoon Chang, President and CEO of Hyundai Motor Company. “By providing our eco-friendly hybrid and battery electric vehicles as ground transportation, we expect to achieve our shared goal of making the World Cup in Qatar a win-win for planet Earth and humanity.”
Charged up for a carbon-neutral World Cup
Hyundai Motor is preparing a dedicated organization and support system for stable EV operations. It will provide Hyundai IONIQ 5, Sonata HEV, Tucson HEV and KONA HEV as well as Genesis G80 EV and GV70 EV to transport FIFA VIPs and staff, and Elec City buses to transport members of the media.
In addition, the company will operate road-side charging services to discharged BEVs using the innovative Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) function on two IONIQ 5 BEVs. FIFA will provide 100 kW-150 kW EV chargers at the event’s parking facilities located in Doha, Qatar, to ensure the BEVs’ continuous operation.
Hyundai Motor says it will conduct real-time monitoring of the fleet vehicles for any breakage or accidents, and provide prompt service response, such as emergency dispatch, troubleshooting and vehicle inspection as needed.
The company is also utilizing a real-time vehicle control service to improve fleet service quality management. By detecting any accident or vehicle breakage in real time, the system unifies all processes from vehicle warehousing and emergency dispatch to vehicle repair and accident response.
For seamless service throughout the entire competition period, a dedicated team from HMC Headquarters Service, Sub-Middle East Regional Service and Sub-Middle East Regional Quality Center will stand by at a Quality Situation Room in the FIFA parking facilities to assist with local operation. The team will use Qatar dealership service infrastructure for vehicle repair as needed.
Starting in October, Hyundai Motor has conducted a training program about its HEVs and BEVs for all drivers involved in the fleet operation.
Teaming up for sustainability
In addition to providing fleet vehicles, Hyundai Motor launched the Goal of the Century (GOTC) World Cup campaign with the slogan ‘A United World for sustainability’ in April, visualizing carbon neutrality for the World Cup and football fans worldwide.
As part of the campaign, Hyundai Motor created Team Century, a group of campaign ambassadors with former England national football player Steven Gerrard as captain. Each member of Team Century is setting goals for creating a sustainable future for the planet in their field of expertise.
All 11 members of Team Century were recently revealed to complete a single united team, including Hyundai Motor’s global brand ambassador BTS, Afghan refugee football player and Denmark UNESCO ambassador Nadia Nadim, American fashion designer Jeremy Scott, Italian sculptor Lorenzo Quinn, documentary photographer Nicky Woo and Boston Dynamics robot Spot.
