Hyundai's hydrogen-powered XCIENT test fleet surpasses 1 million kilometre milestone

Hyundai’s 2021 XCIENT Fuel Cell truck. Image: Hyundai

Hyundai has been testing hydrogen fuel cell technology for many years across all forms of transport from the Nexo passenger car we recently reviewed, to heavy vehicles. While we believe that battery electric passenger vehicles are superior to hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in the long term, hydrogen may play an increasingly larger role in transport and logistics.

Hyundai's fleet of XCIENT Fuel Cell trucks has collectively exceeded 1 million kilometres of driving in 11 months of service in Switzerland. During that time, the fleet has reduced CO2 emissions by over an estimated 630 tons when compared to diesel-powered vehicles according to the automaker. The 46 trucks in the fleet have been in the service of 25 Swiss companies in logistics, distribution, and supermarket fulfillment. 

 “Swiss transport and logistics companies are convinced that hydrogen fuel cell commercial vehicles have the greatest potential among various alternative energy vehicles. The member companies do not stop at simply introducing hydrogen fuel cell trucks. They have high expectations for the hydrogen energy source that holds great potential for the future and believe that hydrogen will be the key for transitioning to eco-friendly energy,” Jörg Ackermann, Chairman of the H2 Mobility Switzerland Association said. “Specifically, the biggest advantage of hydrogen energy is its excellent storability. This suggests that hydrogen will play an important role in the era of eco-friendly energy. Many distribution companies are already experiencing the benefits directly by using the XCIENT fuel cell trucks, and I think that if summer operation is completed successfully, the demand for the XCIENT fuel cell trucks will increase even more."

XCIENT is available in a 4x2 or 6x2 rigid body configurations.

 The XCIENT range was launched in 2019, and the 2021 model features revised styling and performance improvements. The XCIENT is available in a 4x2 or 6x2 rigid body configuration. A total of 140 units of the 2021 model will be shipped to Switzerland by the end of this year, with 1,600 planned by 2025.

 It’s worth noting that the European Parliament has backed low-carbon hydrogen and plans to significantly increase production over the coming decade but at this stage, there is still limited hydrogen production, storage and refueling capability in the EU. Hyundai Hydrogen Mobility (HHM) leases the XCIENT Fuel Cell trucks to commercial truck operators on a pay-per-use basis which includes the hydrogen supply as well. The benefit for commercial fleet customers is that there is no initial investment.

Hyundai Motor Company has set an annual sales goal of 110,000 fuel cell electric vehicles worldwide by 2025, under its ‘Strategy 2025’ plan. Meanwhile, the wider Hyundai Motor Group plans to ramp up production capacity for hydrogen-powered vehicles to 500,000 units by 2030.

We certainly welcome the decarbonisation of the transportation sector, but would like to see Hyundai developing its battery technology systems to integrate with its rigid body trucks.

Hyundai's Nexo fuel cell electric vehicle forms Australia's first hydrogen fleet

Hyundai has become the first manufacturer to supply a hydrogen fleet in Australia, to the government of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). 20 zero-emission Hyundai NEXO fuel cell electric vehicles have been registered and are set to hit the road in March as part of the ACT government fleet.

The NEXO fleet represents the first deployment of fully certified, ADR-approved Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEVs) in Australia, as well as the first use of hydrogen vehicles by a Government in Australia.

ACT Government welcomes the new vehicles

ACT Minister for Climate Change and Sustainability, Shane Rattenbury MLA, said that the NEXO fleet deployment is a positive step towards mitigating climate change. "Tackling climate change means tackling transport pollution, and zero-emission vehicle technology is a key part of this,” Mr Rattenbury said.

Australia’s first publicly available hydrogen station is scheduled to open in Canberra later this month (March 2021) and will provide the capability for 700-bar rapid refueling of the NEXO fleet.

EV Brief understands that hydrogen will be electrolysed on site (or close to), and will be powered by renewable energy from a Neoen wind farm just outside Canberra.

 The initial 20 ACT government NEXO vehicles will be followed by a fleet of five of the FCEVs for the Queensland government, which are presently inbound to Australia.

 The NEXO was released in 2018, but still looks contemporary. NEXO has a range of 666km (WLTP), with a refueling time of three to five minutes, and emits only water vapour from its exhaust. Hyundai claims the NEXO “purifies the air as it drives”, and that for every hour that the NEXO is on the road, 26.9 kilos of air is purified.

Hyundai’s NEXO emits only water from its tailpipes.

The heavy duty filtration system of the NEXO removes 99.9% of PM2.5 fine particulate matter from polluted air according to Hyundai.

“The deployment of 20 NEXO fuel cell electric vehicles for the ACT government is a significant milestone in Hyundai’s long-term commitment to hydrogen as a key to zero-emissions transport solutions for Australia,” Hyundai Motor Company Australia Chief Executive Officer, Jun Heo said. “As part of a line-up that includes the hybrid and plug-in hybrid IONIQ, and the pure electric IONIQ and Kona models, NEXO also underscores Hyundai’s leadership in eco-mobility,” he said.

Our take:

Hydrogen is certainly going to be important in the future, particularly in manufacturing and heavy industry as a replacement for gas where renewables aren’t practical. Hydrogen even makes sense for commercial vehicles, government fleets and busses where it can be electrolysed on site via renewable energy.

The biggest problem comes from the required energy to electrolyse hydrogen; Only 38% of the original electricity used actually makes it to the driven wheels of a vehicle. By comparison, a battery electric vehicle (BEV) achieves around 80-90% efficiency.

Hydrogen has to be compressed, chilled and transported to a refueling station and then when inside the vehicle, needs to be converted to electricity and finally into powering the motor. Not only do BEVs break the whole refining/transportation/refueling regime that lines the pockets of big oil, they allow consumers to power their own vehicles from 100% renewable energy in the form of solar panels on their home.

Hyundai and Toyota are two of a small number of manufacturers pursuing hydrogen development, but the rest of the industry seems to be heading for a pure electric future.