Hyundai to launch hydrogen-powered trucks

A number of fuel-cell trucks will be debuting in South Korea and Switzerland.

Hyundai Motor Company and Yeosu Gwangyang Port Corporation are partnering to commercialize hydrogen fuel-cell trucks. An MOU between the two includes the development of hydrogen fuel-cell trucks for logistics transportation and the opening of a hydrogen fuelling station

Heavy duty vehicles remain dependent on liquid and gas fuels with batteries being too heavy for electrification. Hyundai is now launching fuel-cell trucks running on hydrogen in the South Korean market.

The hydrogen fuel-cell trucks will be put into operation for the 320-kilometer (199-mile) round-trip route connecting Gwangyang Port and Busan.

The South Korean automaker will also roll our hydrogen-powered 18-tonne trucks in Switzerland next month, reports Reuters.

With half of Switzerland’s energy coming from hydropower, the country has the potential to extract green hydrogen from water with electrolysis.

Hyundai’s H2 Xcient trucks have a 190 kilowatt fuel cell and seven high-pressure tanks holding nearly 35 kg of hydrogen, giving them a range of more than 400 km.