Hyundai Motor Company revealed its plan to ramp up the U.S. commercial vehicle market entry with XCIENT Fuel Cell trucks at the 2022 Advanced Clean Transportation (ACT) Expo.
At the ACT Expo, the largest advanced transportation technology and clean fleet event, Hyundai Motor will share the progress of the NorCAL ZERO Project. Through the project, also known as Zero-Emission Regional Truck Operations with Fuel Cell Electric Truck, Hyundai Motor will deploy 30 Class 8 6×4 XCIENT Fuel Cell heavy-duty tractors at the Port of Oakland, Calif., in 2023.
The company also will take part in the Hydrogen Workshop panel discussion during the ACT Conference. Hosted under the theme, ‘Coming Around the Corner, Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles,’ panelists will talk about the challenges and prospects of the hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle market as well as policies and business plans. As part of the panel, Mark Freymueller, Senior Vice President and Head of Commercial Vehicle Business Innovation at Hyundai Motor Company, will talk about the company’s sustainable mobility solutions and business cases with other panelists.
“Our ultimate goal is to fight climate change and build a sustainable future. We are running out of time to limit global warming,” said Freymueller. “We believe that there is no way around hydrogen to realize the energy transition towards renewables. And amongst others, it also offers already today a practical and viable solution to decarbonize the heavy-duty commercial vehicle sector providing excellent drive range, payloads and refueling time on our trucks.”
Hyundai Motor views hydrogen as the clean energy solution for commercial vehicles, including vocational trucks that require high amount of energy, due to the convenience in production, transportation, distribution and storage. Hydrogen is an energy carrier with high density which allows fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV) to provide sustained energy output suitable for long-haul driving and carrying heavy loads. Fuel cell electric commercial vehicles enhance work efficiency and lower infrastructure cost compared to battery electric vehicles (BEV) by minimizing downtime with shorter refueling time. This has led the company to deploy a growing fleet of XCIENT Fuel Cell trucks, the world’s first mass produced fuel cell electric heavy-duty truck, in Switzerland starting in 2020, which now has achieved a cumulated range of 3.5 million km as of April 30, 2022.
With the U.S. government’s significant investment and more players entering the hydrogen market, the total cost of ownership (TCO) for fuel cell electric vehicles will drop significantly in the coming years. Climate change and on-going supply chain issues will accelerate the transition to clean energy sources.
“Hyundai Motor is a leader in the hydrogen fuel cell market with decades of experience and proven expertise. Our proven record of success with commercial fuel cell programs in Korea and Europe has been critical to our launch of heavy-duty fuel cell trucks in North America,” said José Muñoz, President & COO of Hyundai Motor Company. “Deploying XCIENT Fuel Cell tractors at the Port of Oakland for the NorCAL ZERO Project is just the beginning of our goals as we work with partners to fight climate change and build a more sustainable future.”
Hyundai Motor’s ACT Expo booth highlights its sustainable transportation logistics and technology leadership in the fuel cell electric vehicle market.
Besides the booth and panel discussion and onsite vehicles, Hyundai Motor will also run a Ride & Drive program where visitors can experience the 6×2 XCIENT Fuel Cell tractor and 6×2 XCIENT Fuel Cell rigid truck.
